Anything for You
by Lady Saruman
Summary: Alice and Jasper have been best friends ever since they were babies. They trust each other with everything. However, they discover in high school that they want to be more. But after college, Alice is about to marry another. What happens then? AU/AH.
1. Since the Diaper Days

**Disclaimer: Every girl's dream: owning Jasper, Emmett, and Edward. But it is naught but a dream.**

**IMPORTANT NOTE: This chapter is rushed but it's just an overview of Alice and Jasper's lives when they were younger. The **_**actual **_**actual story begins next chapter, in high school, where all the REAL drama begins. :)**

**The reason I wrote this story: ****Breaking Dawn **** had hardly any of the other ****couples'**** relationships, only Bella and Edward's, and plainly, I've had enough of Bella. ****And while I was reading fanfics I noticed that the best-friends-then-are-something-more stories are ALL Bella and Edward. ****There weren't any Alice and Jasper stories like that, and no Rosalie and Emmett ones either. So I decided to write my own.**

**Ages are based on Jasper's. OOC.  
**

* * *

_Age: 1_

Jasper was biting on a soft, circular water baby teether, his current favorite toy. The doorbell rang. His mother answered the door and greeted her guests warmly. In came a very familiar woman, and in her arms was a beautiful, large-eyed baby. Jasper squealed happily at the sight of her.

Mrs. Brandon laughed as her baby cooed sweetly. "Hello there, Jasper," she said in an adoring voice. "So eager to see Mary again?" She relinquished her beloved baby, who immediately let out an excited giggle and crawled even closer to her playmate. Jasper dropped the teething ring, and she snatched it from him and began attacking it enthusiastically with her teeth. Mrs. Brandon and Mrs. Whitlock laughed merrily as they looked at their children reverently. The two babies got along so well, considering their ages.

Mary Alice Brandon had just hit the year mark about one month ago. Jasper Whitlock was older than her by several months. Not long after he was born, the Brandons moved into the house across the street from the Whitlocks. Mrs. Whitlock went to go visit her new neighbors with a welcome present, only to be greeted by a bulging belly before Mrs. Brandon herself. The two women became fast friends, and before Mrs. Brandon knew it, her new neighbor had arranged a baby shower for her.

* * *

_Flashback_

The delivery was far from easy, but it was very much successful. Both women fell in love with the baby at once, and Mrs. Brandon decided to name her Mary Alice. As much as she thought the name 'Mary' was old-fashioned, Mrs. Whitlock kept silent like the polite, respectful woman she was.

As soon as Mrs. Brandon and Mary were considered healthy enough to be released, Mrs. Whitlock decided bring Jasper for a visit to introduce him to Mary, and vice versa. She was anxious when she brought Jasper into Mary's room. Jasper had a tendency to start crying at the sight of strangers, just like he had when he first met Mrs. Brandon. He was an incredibly sensitive baby.

"Jasper, honey?" Mrs. Whitlock murmured to her son. He squirmed in her arms, sensing a presence in the crib. "I'm going to introduce you to a new friend." Mrs. Brandon hovered near them, waiting nervously. Mrs. Whitlock brought him to the crib's side railing. Tiny Mary Alice, who was only a few days old, was happily curled up, sleeping on her stomach, with her tiny fists tucked to her sides.

Mrs. Brandon braced herself for Jasper's wail that would surely trigger Mary's own. However, it never came.

Rather than bawling his lungs out, Jasper peered curiously at the baby peacefully sleeping. Then, to everyone's surprise, he _laughed_. It was not his first laugh, but it the first laugh he had ever given upon meeting someone new. Right then and there the two mothers knew this girl would be someone special to Jasper.

* * *

_Age: 5 _

"Jazzyyy!" Alice screamed happily in their game of hide and seek. "I know where you're hiding!"

Alice had given Jasper a nickname. She said she hated spitting out the 'p', and that her version was so much easier. She had also refused to be called by her first name ever since she had learned how to talk. She adamantly insisted on being called Alice, and everybody seemed to like it better. Mrs. Brandon was resigned to the fact and acquiesced.

Jasper knew what she was attempting, so he smartly stayed quiet. She was trying to goad him into saying something, so that she could follow the sound of his voice and thus hunt him down.

Alice and Jasper were best friends, almost inseparable. When they started preschool, the two stuck together like glue but also made friends with everyone; none of the toddlers were at that stage yet where each find the opposite sex to be "gross".

Even now, as Jasper crouched behind the bushes, he never heard Alice sneak up on him from behind. Both of them always thought they could get away with hiding behind a tree, bushes, or anything that was bigger than themselves. They were still too young to discover the benefits of nooks and crannies; for now, hiding behind large, immobile objects was enough.

So he thought he was safely hidden away, but then Alice jumped on him and he let out a startled scream, and it really did sound like one in his childish, high voice. Alice was giggling madly.

"I told you I knew where you were!" she squealed exuberantly. "Now it's your turn!"

Jasper turned around, closed his eyes, and began counting to twenty while Alice scampered off to find a new hiding place.

* * *

_Age: 7_

"Caroline, I dare you to talk to Aaron Lamison," a little girl whispered to her friend.

"Eww, no, Madison!" Caroline protested, unnerved. "He has cooties! He's yucky!" The rest of the girls' hands flew up to their mouths in horror and they began their little "cootie shot" chant.

Madison sighed. "I don't know how Alice does it. She's so…brave. Isn't she scared she'll catch icky germs from Jasper?" The other girls shook their heads bemusedly.

It was the opposing-sexes period, but Alice and Jasper's strong friendship kept them together. Their bond was still as strong as ever. They were the two exceptions to this stage in their peers' lives, and of course, they ignored the talk.

The girls would look at Alice in worshipful awe, which she found to be annoying after a while. They never said anything against Jasper, though. They were all captivated by his budding good looks. The boys would tease Jasper about his "little girlfriend" but admitted that he was good at "getting the pretty and nice girls".

"Hey look, pretty boy Jasper is playing with his girlfriend again. He's helping her with the swing!" The rest of the boys hooted. The first boy spoke again.

"Maybe I'll ask her to be my girlfriend when I get older…she's got spunk." His friends all booed him and made gagging noises.

* * *

_Age: 9_

"Alice, I think I have crush on a girl," Jasper informed his best friend, his large eyes looking like a devoted puppy's.

"Really?" Alice's own eyes widened with innocence and curiosity.

"Yeah," Jasper continued in his adoring tone. "Her name's Courtney Holloway, and she's very, very pretty." He looked at Alice, waiting for her reaction.

She beamed. "That's so cute!" she squealed, jumping up and down. "She'll definitely like you back!" But her face immediately saddened. "I like this boy too…but I bet he won't notice me at all." She looked at the ground.

"Why not?" Jasper demanded, his protective instincts automatically kicking in.

"Because…I'm not pretty enough," she sighed dramatically. "While he, on the other hand, is extremely cute! And handsome too…"

Jasper rolled his eyes. "Alice, I think you're pretty, even more so than Courtney. And if your cute guy doesn't think so, then he's not cool enough for you."

She blinked at him. "Really? You think I'm pretty?"

"Of course, Alice! I've been saying that to you since we were three!"

"I just thought you might've changed your mind…I mean, we've grown up a bit."

Jasper snorted. "Really, Alice, believe it. I'm a guy, I should know."

She looked slightly reassured. "Thanks, Jazzy." She stepped closer to him for a hug.

After releasing each other, Jasper said, "So…who's the lucky guy who has gotten my best friend's attention?"

* * *

_Age: 11_

"Alice Brandon!" the principal called. Both the audience and the soon-to-be alumni of Kohurn Elementary School cheered. Alice stepped onto the podium, shook the principal's hand with her right while taking her certificate in the other, and turned, smiling for the camera. The professional photographer's camera flashed, along with the cameras of some of the parents'. She was extremely grateful the principal had given the students the choice of what they wanted to be addressed as; she did _not_ want to be called Mary.

As Alice descended the podium, her friends bellowed their congratulations loudly. However, Jasper was the loudest.

She caught his eye, smiled at him, and waved. He returned a goofy grin and gave her the thumbs up. She rejoined her line, and they all stood together for the last time as hundreds of cameras flashed repeatedly. They were allowed to return to their seats about thirty seconds later.

It wasn't long before it was Jasper's turn; there was a small amount of fifth graders. After his name was called there were only about ten other people after him.

After the ceremony had ended, everybody dispersed, gathered in a crowd with family and friends. Picture after picture was taken of the joyous, laughing graduates and their families. Picture after picture of Alice and Jasper was taken, forever capturing what their bond was like when they were newly post-fifth graders. Their deep relationship had stayed as strong as ever in elementary school, but middle school was going to be different. It was the beginning of the drama, although the _real_ drama wouldn't actually begin until high school.

* * *

_That very same summer_

"_Oh, my God, I cannot believe this!_" Alice screeched to Jasper, who was rubbing her back soothingly. "Just _look_ at me!" she screamed, which was unnecessary since her best friend was already staring at her like a scientist would observe a new species.

"Shh, calm down," Jasper said in a soft, flowing voice that soothed her somewhat. "You're overreacting."

"No, you're just abnormally calm!" she shot back at him. "I look like a bucktoothed freak! This horrid punishment reveals what I _truly _look like when I smile!"

Jasper was privately thankful that Alice had chosen to go crazy in the car rather than in the waiting room. It would have caused a scene, and she would have been less than welcome the next time she went for her appointment.

She was already stretching herself up to see her braces in the rearview mirror. Her eyes met her mother's. Mrs. Brandon smiled reassuringly at her.

"Don't worry, sweetheart, you look as pretty as always. And when you finally do get them off, it will pay off nicely. Just you watch."

Jasper quickly assented to that statement and added in some of his own words to calm the panicked girl. Jasper, who, like no other, had the ability to calm Alice down during the times when she was a bundle of nerves.

"_What_ am I going to do during registration? _How _am I going to smile for the yearbook picture? I look like such a nerd!" Alice freaked out, deafening Jasper in the process.

Mrs. Brandon put her foot down. "Enough, Alice. Getting braces isn't the end of the world. No one is going to look at you differently…and if they do, then they are not your friends. _And_, it's not nice to be stereotypical." Her statement had a ring of finality to it.

Alice sighed in defeat. "But that hot guy Brad…" she mumbled into Jasper's chest. She felt his torso vibrate as he attempted to keep his laughter silent.

* * *

_Age: 12—Alice _

_(It is now middle school, where the students of the other elementary schools mingle together.)_

"Hello, there, little lady," a low, powerful voice said. "Do you mind if I sit here?"

Alice whirled jerkily in the direction of the voice. Before she could fully register who was standing in front of her, her mind automatically called for Jasper. Jasper was a comforting presence, her loyal protector, her best friend.

The speaker was easily the burliest person she had ever seen. He was tall, and he had enormous muscles. Well, he wasn't really _that _big, just larger than the average boy, but that was what it felt like to her. However, she wouldn't count on the fact that he wasn't going to get a growth spurt.

"Um, okay," she said, gesturing towards the empty seat. "I don't own it, after all."

He grinned as he took his seat. "Hey, I'm Emmett McCarty."

"Alice Brandon," she said with a smile of her own. It was impossible not to feel light-hearted around Emmett; his happiness was contagious. She couldn't help it when she blurted out, "How tall are you?"

He laughed. "Five nine and still growing." She gaped in astonishment. She was only four feet nine inches, and she was hoping she could still grow, although she doubted it.

That class period was spent filling out an "About Me" information sheet, explaining the syllabus, and ending with the table partners getting to know each other. Alice and Emmett instantly took to each other; it was jovial spirit calling to another jovial spirit. They agreed to sit together at lunch and introduce their friends.

_He'll love Jazz,_ was the last thought Alice had before the bell rang.

* * *

_Jasper_

After inspecting the seating chart, he made his way down the narrow aisle to his seat. His class was rather large, consisting of about forty people. A girl was walking in front of him, her thick mahogany hair falling to her upper back, swinging like a curtain would in the breeze. Jasper found himself wishing she would walk faster.

It was as if he had cursed her. Not even a second after that thought had popped into his head, the girl tripped over nothing—maybe her own feet?—and was quickly plunging forward. Jasper rushed forward in an attempt to save her, but he only managed to grab her hand. The momentum she had gained from the fall nearly caused her to drag him down with her.

Blood pooled instantaneously in her cheeks. "Sorry," she mumbled. "I trip all the time." Jasper helped her up since he already had a hold on her hand, and as she made her way to her seat he discovered that he sat just in front of her. She touched his shoulder lightly, as if afraid to tap him. He turned around.

"I want to thank you for saving me from my fall. Who knows, I could've fallen in an even worse way than that."

He raised his hands. "No, no," he protested. "It's what anyone would have done. And plus, I couldn't catch you, so _I'm_ sorry."

"It's fine," she muttered, blushing again.

Later, during lunch, Jasper noticed Bella Swan, the girl who had tripped in class, wandering around alone, trying to find a place to sit—a place that wasn't already occupied by cliques or groups that clearly showed that they were a closed party. She was clearly new to the district, and friendless. He decided to invite her to sit with him.

And Bella was the first new friend Jasper had made in middle school. Pretty soon, he, Alice, Bella, and Emmett were close, but he and Alice remained the very best of friends.

* * *

_Age: 14_

"That's cool…of course she would! Hey…let's double!" Alice squealed, once she had released her stranglehold on his neck and when she had finally stopped jumping up and down. She instantly frowned.

"Jasper, how many times have I told you to stop growing so fast? You're getting too tall for me!"

He laughed. "I can't help it. Growing tall adds to the 'manliness' effect, don't you think? And didn't you say you always wanted 'tall and manly'?"

She wrinkled her nose. "Yeah, but you're my best friend! That's gross, Jazz! That's like…incest!"

"What is?"

"Uh…" she seemed to have forgotten what her rant was about. "Don't change the subject! So I was saying…let's double!"

Jasper chuckled at her silliness. She was the one who changed the subject first. And then…doubling? She had gotten a date?

"What? You got asked out? By whom?"

"Leland Tellegro." Jasper frowned. He'd never heard of that person before.

"That's good. For a second there I thought you were going to say Emmett."

She smacked his arm. "What's wrong with your brain, Jasper Whitlock? You're disgusting! Ew! Now _that's _incest!"

"I'm sorry, Mommy," he laughed out.

"Hmm…" Then she grinned wickedly. "Mommy gets to decide what you wear on your date, then. Knowing you, you're going to choose something that's too _démodé._ You know, old-fashioned."

"Aww nooo…" Jasper whined.

* * *

_Graduation_

Jasper's full name rang out clearly through the speakers, immediately followed up by thunderous cheering, of which the three loudest were from Emmett, Alice, and Bella. Emmett's impressive set of lungs easily drowned out the cries of the girls, but Jasper barely managed to hear them.

Much like the graduation ceremony back at Kohurn Elementary, much picture taking and socializing followed. After the four finally escaped their other friends' clutches, cameras, and parents, they all went together for a celebratory dinner at an expensive Italian restaurant especially designed for large parties. Jasper's group was a party of sixteen.

Everybody was carefree and ecstatic with the arrival of summer.

* * *

_First day of high school_

Alice grasped Jasper's hand nervously, her other arm wrapped around her textbooks. "This is it," she said. "This is high school."

Jasper nodded, his hand squeezing hers.

And together they stepped onto the grounds of their school for the next four years.

* * *

**A/N: No, Emmett and Alice's heights are NOT mistakes; they were in seventh grade then and of course everyone is still growing. Obviously, Alice only grows one more inch before she reaches her full height. Emmett gets eight. Unfair, isn't it?**

**Rosalie and Edward are coming up soon! Next chapter will also be when the first person POVs begin! **

**So my beta started school yesterday (or literally, two days ago). I'm so sad :( No more talking, reduced writing, more torture for us all. Good luck **_**dear forever yours**_** (Platypi), and I love you! (non-creepy way please)**

**My own school starts on September 4****th****. Anyone start school sometime near that date? What I found cool is that **_**equestrienne326 **_**starts on the same day as me! Two completely different locations, same start date! SQUEE!**

**Review and you get a PREVIEW of the next chapter! :D Rhyme power!  
**


	2. Divorce: The Beginning of the Change

**Disclaimer: The usual.**

**I do realize that it's overly dramatic, but it was very fun to write. :D**

**Very, very, very (say very 1,000 times) OOC. Especially with Bella and her temper. I also twisted the plot around.**

**This chapter is dedicated to **_**xx-twilight7-xx **_**for being the first reader and reviewer! Yay go you! :D And thank you very much for the yogurt idea :) It was her own real-life experience. That was hilarious reading about it. Poor guy. And she threatened to send the zoo after me :X**

**And I also have to give much credit to my beta. She's on vacation at the Grand Canyon right now and I still made her edit :P And she was like "TWELVE PAGES?!" So yeah. Sorry but thank you very much! Now all you people know what kind of a person I am. Haha.**

* * *

Jasper's POV

Freshman year was easy and painless, as expected. Surprisingly, this high school was a particularly friendly one; the upperclassmen were never hostile to us; they didn't attempt to dump us into trash cans or do anything of a spiteful nature; instead, they helped us with our way around campus and often gave us wise pieces of advice.

It wasn't hard for Alice's and my friendship to survive this; we were strong, and we believed we could be best friends until the end of time. As freshmen, we were limited from most of the school's courses and extracurricular activities that took up a lot more time.

We also had hilarious moments that year. There was one time during lunch when we had our yogurt splatter incident. That day, the school served pasta for lunch, along with yogurt as dessert. The school was complaining about how the yogurt tasted like sour glue. How they even knew what glue tasted like, I did not want to know.

Anyway, people were coming from left and right, walking to the nearest trash can to dispose of the "glue concoction gone wrong", as they called it. Alice, who was capable of eating strange and exotic foods, gave it a try. She had hardly touched any with her tongue before she spat it back out. Emmett and Bella automatically handed their untouched cups of yogurt to me.

Alice got up with me. "Just in case you spill any," was her reason.

I pushed back the lid of the trash can for her. We hated these things. They were the ones that had resistant lids, and it was impossible to throw trash in without said lids snapping back and hitting your hand. The damn springs were just too tightly coiled!

So Alice was dropping the lidless cups of yogurt in, when all of a sudden my hand cramped up as she was about to throw the last cup in. The lid snapped back in place, hitting my hand and the cup like a batter hitting the baseball. The cup flew about a foot, and its contents went flying. We were both standing on either side of the trash can, so we were spared. However, the same couldn't be said for everybody else. The repulsive yogurt landed _all _over a boy who was standing behind us, awaiting his turn. Turns out, that guy was a junior. Alice and I apologized like crazy, and Alice actually dragged him to the _girls'_ _restroom_ to clean him up. I felt sorry for him at first, but those feelings quickly changed when he became all stalker-like and tried to get Alice to notice him.

Alice still looks back on the incident fondly, and we shared many a laugh from it.

That year was effortless…it really _was_ the baby year of high school, even with all my honors classes and sports. Certainly I tried, but it didn't require as much of my time. I knew sophomore year, however, was going to be different. It was the year where some of the elite courses would be open to us.

My simple, happy life changed horribly even _before_ sophomore year…it was the summer before that upcoming school year when everything started…the cause of the change in Alice's and my friendship.

* * *

_Summer before sophomore year_

"Jasper," Alice said in a calm, quiet, and deadly voice once I had picked up the phone. I knew that when she spoke like that something of vital importance was up. This tone was rare.

"What's the matter, Alice?" I asked her urgently.

"It's about Bella," she answered grimly. "She should be calling you soon, but a meeting needs to—" The rest of her sentence was cut off by the double beeping that indicated another incoming call. The caller ID showed 'Bella Swan'.

"Hold on, Alice," I said into the phone. "She just called." I pressed the 'Accept' soft key and was greeted by the sounds of muffled crying.

"Bella? What's wrong?" I was scared for her. She was a strong girl, and she almost _never_ cried.

"My…my parents. Th-they decided to g-get a d-d-div—" She couldn't complete the last word, but it was already painfully obvious. It explained her recent behavior—the carefully concealed stress, her reluctance to hang out with the group, and why she kept contact to a minimum. We had attempted to wrest the truth from her, but she stubbornly refused to tell us and said that she was fine. Not wanting to stress her out even further, we relented, knowing she would tell us sooner or later.

I had no clue what to say to that, so I just used Alice's words. "Alright, that's it. Bella, you are coming over here _now_." That was my don't-you-dare-defy-me voice, used as rarely as Alice used her menacing one.

"No." It sounded like a challenge.

I didn't get to argue back, because I heard a banging on Bella's end.

"_Leave me alone!_" she screamed.

I heard someone's inaudible words. It was her mother, saying something like "Honey, I can explain."

"Jasper, I have to go," Bella whispered, her voice laced with even more pain than before, if that was possible. I heard her scream "_You ruined my life!"_ before the line disconnected.

I got back to Alice. "You're right," I said. "We're holding a meeting. And Bella's coming with us. If she doesn't then we'll have to go as far as to ask for her parents' permission rather than for hers. If she still says no then we'll have Emmett get her."

"Wow," she whispered. "What did Bella _say_ to you?"

"It was more like what she didn't say…and what I heard before she hung up."

"Ah." Alice hardly ever gave one word answers.

"Wait…did anyone think to call Emmett and tell him what's going on?"

"He already knows." She hung up. A second later I heard her again, except this time it was from outside.

"Come _on,_ Jasper, move! Emmett's mom is waiting for us!" I quickly grabbed my phone and keys and ran out of my room, and slid down the handrail of our staircase, which was faster than running down the many steps. I was just locking the door when Alice flung herself from around the corner of my house and flew into the car. I was several seconds slower than her.

Mrs. McCarty drove within the speed limit, ignoring Alice's pleas to drive faster. When we finally arrived at Bella's house five minutes later, we gave Mrs. McCarty false, cheery goodbyes as well as our thanks before she drove off.

"God, I hate having to eavesdrop," Alice whispered as we crept towards the empty space between the bushes and the nearest open window. About five feet away we heard noises. Closer…closer…we started to make out some words.

"…_for_…_not_…_own good_…"

"_Well what do you expect me to do?!_"

We were pressed up against the wall, hearing everything with perfect clarity. The argument was loud and could be easily heard. I heard Bella pleading.

"_Please, Mom…Dad? Can you guys try one more time to make this work…for me?_"

"_I'm sorry, Bella…we can't. We've tried too many times and we've come to the conclusion that we can't keep doing this forever. It isn't working._" Charlie's voice.

"_Yes,_" came Renée's terse agreement. "_And now, back to the subject on hand. Would you prefer to move away with me or to stay here with your dad?"_

"_Just…_leave me alone!_ Why do you care about my opinion anyway? And doesn't that decision reside with the court?_" It sounded very, very bitter.

"_Because…we care about you. And we don't want to make you stay in a place you don't want to. And that decision belongs to the court only when we're fighting over custody of you, which we're not, because your dad and I don't want to have to sink to that level._"

"_Oh, it doesn't matter anymore!_" We heard our pained friend scream. "_You're getting divorced! Living someplace different isn't going to change things! And for your information, _Mom—" she sneered the word "—_if you cared about me then you would somehow find a way to make this work out! Do _either_ one of you know what it feels like to have your parents separate? No! Because neither of you have gone through it before!_"

Neither of her parents said anything. She continued with her furious tirade.

"_You regret marrying right out of high school now, don't you? Do you regret_ me_? Did you try sorting out your differences before you got married? Did you even _know_ you had these differences?_"

They were both still silent. "_Answer me!_" Bella screamed in response. Her words had hit home.

"_Life isn't fair,_" Renée began bleakly. "_You can't always get what you want._"

"_I CAN'T ALWAYS GET WHAT I WANT?!_" I wondered how the windows escaped their fate from her earsplitting screech. "_Do you really think that's what it is? Want? Children don't merely_ want_ their parents, they _need_ them._ _And if both of you fail to see that then why are you even parents?_ _I'm just an accident, aren't I?_" At this point her voice had begun to crack and the crying had started.

"_Of course not—_" Renée and Charlie said together, but Bella didn't let them get very far. She was on a roll.

"_I don't care if I'm being selfish and not caring for your problems, but I really can't live like this! I'd rather go live in the orphanage than to live with you guys!_"

We all winced. That was a low blow, but at this point, we wouldn't be surprised at anything Bella said anymore.

"_Oh, honey…don't say that…_" But everybody knew Bella was beyond reason now. "_I hate you! I hate the _both_ of you! You're not my mom, and you're not my dad!_" She was hysterically sobbing at this point. She finally stormed up the stairs.

Alice's own tears were wetting my shirt as her face was buried in my shoulder.

"Oh my God…poor Bella…" she whispered.

Emmett looked grim. "I say we should take her away from her parents for today."

"Only if she allows us to," I warned him.

"No kidding," he said, his voice sarcastic to the extreme. He snuck around the house to the side where Bella's bedroom window was.

"Alice?" I whispered, shaking her gently. She sniffled a bit and took deep breaths.

"Okay," she said quietly as she prepared to stand up. I instantly pulled her back down, pointing to the window above us. I then gestured for her to follow me. We crept to where Emmett was…or rather, where he was supposed to be.

He was currently balanced on one of the lower branches of the tree, with Bella poking her head out of her window, which was a good many feet above Emmett's branch. Her tears had stopped, and she was looking at Emmett in shock as he was persuading her to escape her house via the tree. She shook her head vehemently, clearly frightened for her life.

"Emmett, get down from that tree!" I hissed. That branch didn't look very sturdy…and I was doubtful about its capability to hold all his bulk.

"Someone needs to help her get down the tree!" he sibilated back.

"Yeah, well, how's that going to happen when the higher branches can take hardly any weight at all?"

"This isn't working," he agreed as he swiftly maneuvered his way back down.

Alice was frowning in concentration. Emmett then suggested another of his dangerous ideas.

"Jump," he ordered, standing right underneath the window with his arms outstretched.

"What? No!" Alice yelled at him as I instantly tried to hush her. "First of all, the branches are too close and she'll hit just about every single one of them on her way down! Second, this is _two stories high!_ You're both going to get hurt! And finally, what if you miss? Bella can _die_ from the impact! You're almost asking her to commit suicide!"

_Too loud, Alice,_ I groaned in my head. Sure enough, we heard Charlie's voice just outside Bella's door.

"_Bella, who are you talking to?_"

She started with the hysteria again. "_No one! I was just praying to God and asking him why some parents are just so _stupid!"

There was no answer. Alice clutched my hand tightly. Bella was still turned towards her door. Emmett's face was emotionless.

Finally, Bella turned back to us and shook her head, most likely trying to clear her thoughts. "This really is _not_ working," she said, stating the obvious. Answering was pointless.

She sighed. "The only way out of this house is out the front door, and I don't care what they say. If they won't respect my wishes, then I don't have to respect theirs."

She was taking this very, very badly. She was acting the exact opposite of her usual self; normally she would have blamed herself for the situation—oh. That was going to come later. It was a characteristic of many girls I knew. Rage first, grieve later.

We heard a series of loud banging, and the commotion started up again. We made our way back to the front of the house, careful to avoid being seen.

"_Bells, where are you going?_"

"_It's ISABELLA, and I'm going _outside_ for some _fresh air_. Or am I not allowed that now?_"

"_Not too late, then,_" I heard Charlie say much more quietly.

Surprisingly, the front door was closed rather gently, and the next thing we knew, Bella's eyes caught us in our crouched positions, this time in _front_ of the bushes. She wasn't supposed to know that we had spied on her earlier.

"Let's go," she fumed. We all walked until we were safely far away from the house, and then Alice stopped us.

"Car?" she asked Emmett with her eyebrows raised.

"Alice, think about it. We just got here. Don't you think it's a bit suspicious for us to call my mom to pick us up this early? We're supposed to be 'hanging out', remember?"

"Oh." She frowned. "I forgot about that. Jasper?" She turned to me.

It was my turn to question her sanity with my eyebrows. "My parents have work, remember?"

Alice rubbed her forehead in frustration. Apparently the stress was already getting to her and messing up her memory.

"Cynthia's at home…Mom's at work…Jasper doesn't have his license yet…" she pondered to herself. "Alright, we're walking," she declared to us. "Jasper's place, since there aren't going to be questioning parents there, and his sister is at her friend's house. We'll be able to get some peace for a while."

We all walked the twenty minutes to my house, with Bella's eyes glued to the ground the entire time. An awkward, nervous silence lingered.

We finally arrived, and Alice ushered Bella to my sofa.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked in a voice so soft that it resembled the coo of a mourning dove.

"No," Bella answered lifelessly. "I don't want to ever talk about it, but I'll have to sooner or later so I might as well just get it over with." She began droning out her story: how the arguments began when she was little and how she ignored them because she knew occasional arguments were common among parents; how those disputes became more and more frequent; how Charlie and Renée failed to solve the same problem over and over again; how they eventually stressed each other out so much that it led to this current point.

Then came the part I had predicted: Bella's sorrow unmasked. She started bawling all over everybody as she kept berating herself for causing her parents' divorce. Her fit didn't last for long before she fell asleep. About ten minutes later she woke up and started at it all over again. Alice, Emmett, and I all stayed quiet and let her rant herself to exhaustion, no matter how much we wanted to tell her that none of it was her fault. Finally, she sank into unconsciousness for good, and Emmett carried her into a guest room.

As soon as he came back, we three discussed our plans. It was already a given that Bella was not returning home tonight, and we needed to get her clothes and her essentials if she was going to spend the night here.

The problem was how to break it to her parents. If we told them that Bella was staying here, they would infer that she told us everything…and that would be awkward because a marriage that fell apart was none of our business, whether they minded our knowledge of it or not.

However, Bella's stay caused a chain reaction, and Alice insisted on staying too. Emmett's mother needed his help with managing his two younger siblings, and he reluctantly but dutifully went home.

Now it was just the two of us, and a sleeping Bella upstairs.

"How are we going to get Bella's stuff?" I asked Alice.

"I don't know…" Her face was in her hands. She was taking it almost as hardly as Bella was. She radiated tension. It hurt me to see Bella like that, but with my best friend affected that way too…that was too much. I scooted over on the couch and wrapped my arms around her tiny form.

I had no clue how to calm her down physically, so I focused on the feeling of tranquility and projected it as forcefully as I could, so much that it hurt my brain. I knew it was stupid and it lacked sense, but I had to try _something_.

Not surprisingly, it didn't work. There was no change that I could detect, and so I had to revert back to physical means. I massaged her shoulders and her neck, and even then she only relaxed infinitesimally. My arm stayed around her shoulder, and her face was still hidden from me while I watched her anxiously and tried to think.

Finally, she stood up.

"I have a plan."

I was still observing her every movement. My eyes questioned her.

"It's going to be half and half…" Half and half of _what_? And what was with her mysteriousness?

She stepped out of the house, and I followed her. In the eyes of those who didn't know us, they would have thought I was a stalker. But really, I was doing this for the most obvious of reasons: for her safety.

When we both arrived at the Swans', Alice ducked behind the nearest tree and pulled me over.

"Okay, I'm going to have to do something _really_ bad."

"Alice, now would be a good time to spill."

"I'm going to sneak in through one of their windows and somehow make my way up to Bella's room." Was the stress affecting her sanity?

"Alice, no! What kind of crazy, stupid idea is that?!"

"I don't know!" she yelled at me, finally letting her temper get the best of her. "If you think it's so stupid then why don't you think of one yourself?"

_Nice going, Jasper,_ I thought to myself. She stormed away before I even had a chance to apologize. She now knocked furiously on the door of the Swan house. What now? Apparently, her plans had changed. I could only hope _this_ plan wasn't as rash.

Charlie pulled the door open. He looked strained. "Hi, Alice."

At that moment she looked like one of the Furies of Greek mythology. It was alarming. She was practically throwing off sparks of fury. This was her new approach? To spin up an angry tale and see where it got her? That was _not_ her usual personality. Could she be mentally ill?

"Charlie," she spat out. He looked at her in alarm. She was usually polite to everyone, especially her elders. I mentally smacked myself on the forehead.

"Alice? May I help you with something?" The poor chief of police of this town was intimidated by Alice? That was a classic. Not to mention it was a bad time for him but he still put his trouble aside to aid _her_. If only he knew that she knew.

"Yes. I want to rip up every single article of clothing Bella has." She spoke harshly, and Charlie blanched. I leaned my forehead against the tree and closed my eyes. This was so messed up.

"Why?" he asked.

"_Because,_" she snarled, "she went to my house and destroyed half of my stock of clothes!" Seriously, Alice? Charlie would have to be _really_ stupid to believe that. He knew Bella would never do that to other people no matter how angry she was. There was something wrong with my best friend.

"Uh, okay? I guess she would…considering what just happened. She told you, didn't she?" His smile was sad.

Alice's eyes immediately widened in innocence. "No, she didn't, but I'm sure there's a reason why. And we're not going to pry if it's her business…" Her imploring eyes did the trick. Charlie fell for the lie.

He stepped aside and invited her in, telling her to try not to do too much damage. I swear, the situation must have changed the two of them into nutcases. Charlie would actually let Alice damage his daughter's possessions? But then again, he knew that most of Bella's wardrobe was provided by Alice…but that was no reason to destroy perfectly good clothes just for the sake of vengeance. Maybe it was because of Bella's numerous complaints about the clothes that prevented Charlie from objecting. Bella hated charity. But Alice, being Alice, never listened.

I sneaked to the back of the house. I heard much ruffling and closing and opening of drawers, and Alice poked her head out of the window.

"Watch out," was the only warning I received before she launched a small duffel bag right out the window. I caught it. She rolled her eyes and mumbled something about stupidity and the ground.

A couple of minutes later she ordered me to move. I complied, and I was glad I listened because this time a much larger bag came speeding down. "Mission successful." She grinned at me for the first time today. "Now march." She pointed imperatively. I obeyed her, involuntarily feeling like a soldier. _How ironic_, I thought to myself sarcastically.

I started on my way back. I heard Alice call a cheerful "Thanks, Charlie!" before joining me. "Give me one," she said, attempting to yank the larger duffel bag out of my arms. I glared at her.

"Are you trying to be_ funny_?" For some reason, my stress made me snap. "You're going to hurt yourself!"

"Fine, give me the smaller one then," she said. I refused, but she snatched it away so angrily and forcefully I found myself thrown off balance. She started walking away as fast as she could.

"Curmudgeon sexist pig," she said without bothering to keep her voice down. We were both mad at each other. Why was I even mad at her in the first place? Because of her rash actions? Because she ordered me around? That couldn't be it, though. She always ordered me around.

I decided to take the easy way out and blamed it on the situation.

* * *

My muscles ached by the time we returned to my house. Alice tapped on the window and grinned. Seconds later, the door opened.

"Hi Mom!" she said, and attacked _my_ mother in a hug. But what can I say? We were practically siblings. And like siblings, we bickered over the littlest, stupidest things, but we would make up two seconds later. However, the bickering got less and less as we matured. When we _did_ fight though, it was more serious and it took a longer time to forgive each other.

"Hi honey!" my mom said. She gestured to the duffel bags in Alice's and my arms. "Is Alice coming over to stay, honey?"

I shrugged. Alice frowned at me. "Yeah, I am. Bella is too, and she needs the sup—I mean female company." We really did not need the adults to become involved with the situation just yet.

We set Bella's clothes down in her room, and Alice turned to face me with her arms crossed. I stared back. Never had any moment between us been as awkward as it was right now. My unrelenting gaze finally took its toll on her. She dropped her arms.

"I screwed up," she said tiredly.

"I know."

"I'm sorry. Seeing Bella in pain…seeing Charlie and Renée give up…I can't think straight." She dropped like a limp doll onto an ottoman. This time, she hid her face from me by drawing her knees up to her chest and ducking her head in between her kneecaps. Her arms were around her legs. And just like that, all the anger I felt towards her vanished at the sight of her vulnerable position.

I kneeled down in front of her and tugged gently on both of her hands until she relinquished her grip on her legs. Holding both of her hands in one of mine, I placed the other lightly on her head and waited patiently. After a while, she looked up. She wasn't looking at me, though; she was analyzing Bella's face, which looked tortured even in her current state of unconsciousness.

"Why isn't she sleep talking? She's stressed, and that's supposed to make her talk nonstop," Alice whispered to herself. I shrugged anyway.

She stood up, unaware that in doing so she had freed her hands from my grasp. I stood up also.

"I have to go. I need to finish my uh—my essay. You know, for English. I'll be back in a couple of hours."

We both knew it was a lie; Alice, I was sure, had finished that essay a week into the summer; in fact, she had finished _all_ of her summer work early. One of her mottos was 'work first, relax later'. I don't think I've ever seen her procrastinate on any homework.

What was happening to her? Was it possible that this one incident could change her so much?

"Yeah…later then," she said to the ground as she walked out.

"Wait, Alice!" She turned around.

"Call me before you come, okay? 'Cause you know…just in case." That was a lame excuse for the real reason why I needed her to call.

"Uh…sure…" She gave me a last strange look.

* * *

Dinner was a discomforting affair. My parents knew Bella was upstairs, sleeping. They were wondering why she would be sleeping at this hour, while I was wondering why she was speechless for once.

My parents communicated silently across the table. They stared each other down, with many different emotions contorting their faces. Every so often a gaze would dart towards me. The way they did that was unnerving. I wouldn't have been surprised if they revealed to me they were telepathic.

Alice called several minutes before nine. "I'm…coming over now?" She made it sound like a question.

"Wait, wait, not yet." I ran out of the house and bound across the street after quickly checking there were no cars. I heard Cynthia complain from Alice's end.

"_Mom, why can't_ I_ go to someone's house this late? You always let Alice go to Jasper's house! What if _they_ decide to do something nasty?_" I stopped on their lawn. What the hell? Since when were Cynthia's thoughts were like this?

"_God, Cynthia, you are so stupid!_" Alice yelled at her. "_Why would I do anything like that? And plus, he's my _best friend!_ What do you take me for, an incest girl?_"

Mrs. Brandon's voice cut in. "_Enough, girls. Cynthia, I happen to trust them. They are not going to get any dirty ideas. And plus, Jasper lives right across from us. He's Alice's best friend, and his mother is mine. Please, Cynthia, be more mature. I will let you go when you're older._"

I had to agree with Alice's mother. Did Cynthia really think that way about Alice and me? Did _my_ own sister think that way? I unfroze from my place on the lawn and walked up to their door. "Alice?"

"Uh…you didn't hear that."

I chuckled at her. "Alright, let's say I didn't. You can come now."

She opened the door and jumped in surprise.

"Jasper, what the heck?"

"Don't look at me that way. I'm doing this for your own safety. And I was raised to be like this. Remember?"

She scoffed. "Safety, Jasper? All I have to do is cross the street! How dangerous can that be?"

"It's nighttime. There are a lot of ways it can be dangerous. I don't want to argue with you."

She rolled her eyes and stalked away, grumbling under her breath. I attempted to hold in my laughter as I followed her. What I wasn't prepared for was her revenge.

She darted the last few steps across my lawn, jumped over the threshold, and closed the door right in my face. Great. I was locked out of my own house by an ungrateful little girl.

"Alice! Open that door right now!" I started jabbing obnoxiously at the doorbell's button. The house sounded with chimes.

"Alice?" I heard my mom ask. "What are you guys doing?"

"_Shut up!_" my sister yelled rudely.

"Oh shoot. I shouldn't have done that," she answered in response to something I hadn't heard, something that wasn't my mother's question. "Sorry, Mom," she said. "Gotta dash."

The door opened and my mom stared at me quizzically as if I was a stranger. I pointed to Alice, who was now flying up the stairs. What had happened?

"Alice? What's going on? Why am I at uh…Jasper's house?" Oh, crap. I had woken up Bella with my doorbell act. I charged up the stairs.

"You don't remember?" Alice's voice was laced with worry. I burst into the room.

Bella was sitting up, her back as straight as a ramrod. Her eyes were wide with confusion at first. Then the hurt took over as everything came rushing back. "Oh. OH." She crumpled, only to jump back up again.

"Ew! I need to shower!" I swear, she was as crazy and irrational as Alice right now. Was I going to be the only sane one?

"Wait!" She rushed back in, grabbed her bag of toiletries, and scrambled into the bathroom again. And out.

"How did my bag get here?" She held up her bag.

"Same way your clothes got here," I said, nodding at her duffel bags.

"Thank you so much." She gave a wary smile and went over to hug us shyly. I gave Alice a look over Bella's head. Her eyes traveled to the bathroom and back to my face, indicating that we would talk about it after Bella had gone in.

"It's our duty," I said half-jokingly as I pushed her gently to the adjoining room.

We waited until we heard the water running, then we went outside to the balcony and discussed Bella's future and her current mental condition. I was more worried about Alice, though. She was taking it as hardly as Bella was…almost as if she was going through the exact same thing. I always knew Alice was caring, but to this extent? It was ridiculous.

"Alright, Alice. Tell me what's going on with you." I grabbed her shoulders and stared hard into her eyes. Her eyes hardened until they looked like actual sapphires, reflective and cold. I flinched back. This was not my best friend. This was not the girl I had known for fifteen years.

"It's nothing," she insisted. She squirmed her way out from under my hands.

I leaned down. "Alice, aren't we best friends? I thought we promised each other we could tell each other anything?"

"This isn't about me, okay?"

"That's not the point! There is something the matter with you, and it's equally as important as Bella's situation!"

"No!" she snapped. "We're supposed to be strong for Bella, and it's not going to help any if _I _end up being the one needing the comforting." She gasped as she realized she had just admitted too much.

I grabbed her again, this time on her upper arms.

"_Alice. _You're going through the same thing aren't you?"

She shook her head wildly in denial.

"No!" she snarled. "You're nowhere close to the truth, so don't guess!"

"I see how it is. You don't trust me anymore. Fine then." That was a pretty low tactic, not to mention juvenile, but sadly, she almost always fell for it because of the need to defend herself and to contradict that statement. Unfortunately, it didn't work on her this time.

"If you really think of me like that, then I'm not even going to attempt to change your mind." Once again she shoved me away. Tears now made her eyes shine, instantly melting the hardness of them. She was my best friend again—albeit a vulnerable one.

Her words cut right into me. I had never thought she would look at it that way. My statement was intended to guilt her into telling me the truth. Instead, she had managed to guilt me back.

"Oh no, Alice, I'm sorry," I said immediately while gently wiping her tears away. "I shouldn't have said that."

"It's fine. I understand. I shouldn't have said what I said either."

"It's not fine—" I began hotly, only to have Alice interrupt me again.

"Please, don't push me for an explanation. I'll tell you when I'm ready to. But right now really is not the right time, so please."

"Fine," I relented.

Amazingly, the water from the shower was still running. Alice reentered Bella's room and called to her.

"Bella, are you still alive?"

"No, Alice. Make sure you spread my ashes over all seven continents," she answered.

Alice joined me again with a sad smile on her face. She leaned out on the rail, closed her eyes, and inhaled deeply.

"I'm sorry, Jasper. Forgive me?"

"What?" I had been staring at the stars in a trance. I now looked to see her eyes piercing mine.

"I'm sorry. I was in the wrong. Please forgive me."

"For what?" Now I was genuinely confused.

"I've been acting quite selfish for the past few hours, and I'm sorry I couldn't tell you what was happening. I want you to know that I trust you completely—I trust you with my life. However, I wouldn't trust myself to be able to hold it in when I talk about it. And like I said, it wouldn't be very helpful of me if Bella ends up comforting me instead of the other way around."

"No, I won't forgive you, because you have done nothing that would require my forgiveness."

She smacked me on the arm. "Thanks a lot, Jazz. You gave me heart failure for a second there."

"I give you my most heartfelt apologies, Miss. Please forgive me? But seriously, though. I shouldn't have forced you to tell me when you're uncomfortable with it."

Alice sighed. "It's not your fault. I would have done that too if you had acted all wacky like I did. Truce?"

I laughed at her choice of words. This was going to be the weirdest "truce" of history.

"Truce," I agreed, and stuck my hand out for her to shake. Instead, she knocked it out of the way and literally jumped on me, hugging me in a stranglehold. I ended up carrying her.

"Well, well, aren't you guys cute," said a voice from the balcony doorway. Bella stood there smiling sheepishly from her failed attempt at humor.

"Bella!" Alice dropped her arms from around my neck and jumped free, running over to Bella and attacking her instead.

"You're silly," she said. "Do you want dinner?"

Bella hesitated. "I…guess…although I'm not hungry. But I feel so weak…"

"Eat," Alice ordered her. "And if you don't then I will spoon-feed you myself."

We joined Bella at the dining room table, where I microwaved her plateful of food for her. She ate only half before she started sniffling.

"Bella, what is it?" Alice asked, alarmed.

"This was the dish my dad always ate on his birthday. He said it was his favorite. Mom would make it for him. I—I can't eat anymore. Please excuse me." She ran up the stairs.

Alice and I looked at each other. She sighed, wrapped the dish with plastic wrap, and put it in the refrigerator. Having Bella over tonight was not going to be easy.

We trudged up the stairs. I wondered what Bella was going to be like after a while. Permanently changed, certainly, but we had yet to find out what else of her would be altered also.

Alice and I joined Bella on her bed and wrapped our arms around her for the rest of the night while she sobbed brokenly and continuously chanted that it was all her fault. She eventually wept herself to exhaustion and collapsed in a pitiful heap, with Alice and me still on either side of her giving her our comfort.

* * *

That incident had damaged Bella, and although she tried to not show it, we could see through her. She had refused to shed another tear after that day, and she put up a brave front. She had chosen to stay with us, and Renée had moved to Florida.

And Alice…Alice had changed too. She was now extremely unwilling to trust adults, and she spent almost all of her time at home. I suspected it had something to do with her father. All I knew about him was that he worked abroad. That was all she knew, Alice said. And by the way she was acting now, it sounded like her own parents weren't going to last.

She had also become much quieter and seemed to be deep in thought no matter where she was. Her smiles were more often forced than not. She started to address me by my actual name.

The strange thing was…she was recovering as swiftly as she had fallen into that new mood. After a week she was back to normal. But now, instead of confiding in us about everything, she started keeping a lot to herself.

Bella had constructed mental shields around herself, but she was almost Alice's opposite in personality. She seemed to depend on us more, and we were all too ready to help her.

Bella's case was solved, but I was not going to quit until I found out what was the matter with Alice.

**

* * *

**

**A/N: Okay, WOW. Thank you for all the reviews! I had fun reading them and laughing in happiness, excitement…you get my drift. Here are the lovely reviewers: **_**xx-twilight7-xx, Haruhi-Sakura13, equestrienne326, Angelius Cullen, Kitty-kat831, sk8rxbluexeyes, ILeftMyHeartInLondon, Athena's-Daughter, Beckah-lynn, **_**and **_**dear forever yours.**_

**If all of you **_**fantastique**_** readers can beat the review count from last chapter, which was 10 reviews, then you'll get chapter 3 early! It's written out already, and for those of you are reading **_**Hell, a.k.a. French Class**_** as well, then I would like to apologize for the crazy delay. I'm working on it now, for real!**

**I used to slide down the handrails of stairs in public. :D Now I don't do it anymore. 'Cause they're so filthy.**

**As for Jasper's explanation on girls' raging-and-grieving, please don't get offended by that or anything. It's AU, so he's free to think whatever he wants. And well it IS true in my school, so…yeah.**

**Rosalie is coming up next chapter! Not really sure about Edward. I let my story write itself. The truth about Alice's family will be revealed too.**

**Okay, thank you for reading! You know what you have to do to get the next chapter EARLY! :D I love you guys very, very much!**


	3. Meeting Rosalie and Edward

**Disclaimer: Um, um Twilight isn't mine! BRB! :freaks out again and rechecks backpack for the ****3945th** ** time to make sure nothing is missing:**

**Make me proud people! Of course, I won't forget the magic word/s: S'il vous plaît, also known as **_**please**_** :)  
**

* * *

_First day of sophomore year_

"Oh my God! This sucks! I have only _one_ class with you?! Noooooo!" Alice threw her arms around Jasper's waist and started to sob dramatically into his chest.

Jasper, Emmett, and Bella all laughed at her.

"Oh, come on, little one, you guys practically live with each other!"

"Oh, I know. I was just fooling around, you idiot." She smiled mischievously. Her fist shot forward and she lightly punched Emmett's stomach. He jumped back. Jasper and Bella tried to muffle their laughter.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"For calling me 'little one'. And I happen to know for a fact that that punch didn't hurt you any. I mean, you have rock-hard abs or something, don't you?"

"Want to find out?" He smirked.

"No, but they do." She nodded towards a group of freshmen girls, who quickly looked away.

She then grabbed Emmett and Bella's schedules. "Wow. I spend half of my school day with King Kong! And only two classes with Bella." She turned back to Jasper. "Jasper, Jasper. How could you."

"I can't help it!" he protested.

Alice rolled her eyes at the joke he had obviously missed. She then turned to find her other friends.

"Zafrina! Let me see your schedule!"

* * *

The four best friends sat down at their usual table, eager to talk about their classes. Jasper started by describing his English teacher, who forgot what she was saying every time she looked at him. Bella and Alice started making fun of him.

"Oh, class," Alice imitated the teacher's breathy, singsong voice to perfection, having had her already. "Today I'm going to start by explaining—" she looked at Jasper at this point "—and oh, I um, I mean…uh…" She batted her eyelashes. They all started laughing except for Jasper, who looked embarrassed.

"Ohhh Jasper," Bella said dreamily, looking at the ceiling. She then slumped sideways onto Emmett with the back of her hand on her forehead. Emmett scooted to the right. Bella screamed as she fell backwards into Emmett's ready arms.

"Don't do that!" she yelled. "I might've hit my head and cracked it open!"

He looked amused. "I was there to catch you."

"Yeah, but with my clumsiness, who knows? I might've slipped and fell!" He rolled his eyes in response while everyone else laughed.

"Well, that was the fastest recovery from swooning I've ever seen. Guess Jasper's not that attractive after all," he jested. Alice and Bella slapped a high-five at their jokes while Jasper threw his straw at Emmett.

"Excuse me, can we sit here?" asked a soft, lilting voice. The four looked up and saw a tall boy with slightly long, artfully mussed hair. The color of it was so unique that it could only be described as a whole new shade of bronze.

Traveling down from his hair, one was met by sharp, green eyes that literally sparkled. _He and Alice have gem eyes,_ Jasper noticed. _Sapphire and emerald._

To complement these stunning features were a perfectly straight nose that was set dead center, and lips that could not possibly be real. Many people's heads were turned towards the boy…and the girl who was slightly hiding behind him. _Greek mythology_, Alice found herself thinking.

The girl behind him could only be described as his counterpart. Her long, blond hair fell in waves and gentle curls down to her waist. She had perfectly smooth, flawless skin that seemed just as marble-like as the boy's. Her features were the same as his, yet they looked nothing alike. Just as strange as the boy's hair was the color of the girl's eyes—they were an alluring hue of violet. From the looks of their bodies, they could easily have been supermodels. They were the right height for it too.

The bronze-haired stranger had on normal September attire—a short-sleeved polo and loose-fitting jeans that hung on his hips, but the girl looked as if she were trying to cover up as much of herself as possible.

Everybody continued to stare at the Greek pair. The girl fidgeted and whispered something to the boy. The boy smiled at the four friends and spoke again.

"I'm sorry, I can see that's not an option. I apologize for bothering you."

"Oh, it's no problem!" Alice was the first one to snap out of her daze. "Please, sit!" She sounded like a hostess. The speaking stranger sat down and thanked her graciously. His companion, however, gave everyone who was sitting at the table a guarded look before cautiously lowering herself down onto the bench. There was a foot of space between the boy and her. Her eyes darted nervously all over the place.

"So glad you could join us!" Alice said politely. "Alice Brandon." She extended her hand towards him.

"Hello, Alice. I'm Edward Cullen, and this is Rosalie Hale, my cousin," he responded as he grasped Alice's hand.

Jasper nudged Bella while staring at Alice, and they exchanged a pained look. Alice no longer bounced in her seat when she met new people. She was now much more refined and less talkative.

Alice turned to Rosalie and greeted her. Rosalie took her hand hesitantly. This reluctance could have passed as shyness to the group, but only Edward knew the real reason for her behavior.

The others introduced themselves. When Emmett held out his hand to Rosalie, she flinched back violently before she could help it. She remained cowered away from him. Edward looked torn between helping her and apologizing. He chose the latter after a few moments.

"I'm sorry," he apologized for the third time. "She's not used to physical contact. She can't tolerate it." Rosalie made no move to confirm what her cousin said; she was now staring at her hands, which she kept twisting uneasily. At that statement, Emmett slowly withdrew his hand, not wanting to startle the girl.

Jasper nodded. "It's understandable. Nice to meet you, Rosalie." She forced out a petrified "Same".

"My apologies, Rosalie," Emmett said, his deep voice soothing. This time she peeked at him from under her lashes and nodded.

"So…Rosalie?" Alice asked in her tinkling, persuasive voice. Rosalie raised her head and looked at Alice warily. "Ye-yes, Alice?" Alice, Emmett, Jasper, and Bella all noticed that Rosalie's voice had a sweet, golden quality to it even when it trembled like it did now. Edward and Jasper shot Alice warning looks.

"What are some of your hobbies?" Jasper relaxed, but Rosalie and Edward's mouths dropped open in shock. They had been prepared for the usual shallow questions they were usually asked, but this caught them off guard.

"Anything to do with horses—and well, animals, cars, and playing the piano. And I guess a little bit of dressing up." She said it tentatively, as if she were afraid it would offend someone.

Emmett, who had politely kept his eyes away from her before, now turned back to look at her.

Meanwhile, everybody who knew Alice expected her to bounce in her seat and squeal in excitement. However, she only smiled.

"That's great, Rosalie. Dressing up is one of my favorite pastimes. And I'm guessing you're a mechanic?"

She nodded, instantly looking down again.

"Horses?" Emmett cut in. It never occurred to any of them that a girl like her would be willing to muck out horse excretions and to clean the stables.

"Yes," Rosalie answered. "I've been involved with them for my whole li-life." No one missed her little stutter but they didn't say anything about it. For Alice, it confirmed her suspicions on Rosalie's peculiar behavior.

"Interesting," Emmett said. He averted his eyes again. It was his turn to be on the receiving end of his three best friends' strange looks. He was showing an unusual amount of tact. He, unlike every other male in the room except for the ones sitting at his table, was not staring at Rosalie nonstop.

Rosalie inched just a bit closer to Edward. "Please," she pleaded. "Please make them stop staring. I-I can _feel_ it."

Understanding whom she meant, Edward turned his head and glared at the occupants of the central table, then his eyes flicked left and right. The people all looked away, but once he turned around, they recommenced their staring.

Rosalie started to shake slightly in fear. She ducked her head on her arm and produced a handkerchief from her jacket pocket, which she folded several times and bit forcefully. She squeezed her eyes shut with all her might, refusing to let the tears come out.

She didn't want them to see her like this. She didn't want to be seen as a freak. If she could change that summer, she would have. Most importantly, she didn't want to scare off these people. People who seemed friendly. People who actually cared about _her_. The girl's—Alice's—initial question had proven that.

But she could not trust them yet. She only trusted Edward and a few others—others she had known for her entire life. Her parents? Never. Not anymore.

_Wait_…Rosalie thought. _Only three people talked to me. What about the fourth?_ She made sure she had no tears, and once again raised her head. Glancing up, she noticed the girl.

Bella Swan was looking down at her lunch tray, spearing her food with a fork. Her movements were nervous and twitchy. Bella probably felt Rosalie's gaze because she quickly looked up, caught Rosalie's eyes, and blushed, dipping her head so that her waist-length mahogany hair fell forward.

_Could it be possible that she's more scared of me than I am of her?_ Rosalie wondered to herself. She didn't want her behavior to frighten people away. _I can't help my reactions!_ she thought in frustration. _It wasn't my choice!_ This quiet, unsocial girl wasn't going to accept her, was she?

Suddenly, Rosalie's mind was plagued with qualms. Many of them.

_What if this girl convinces her friends that I'm a freak? What if they listen to her? What if they don't like me and their questioning was just to see what kind of interests a freak would have so that they could gloat about it? Spread the word?_

She was interrupted from her thoughts by Alice's words.

"—somewhere else…somewhere that is more private, maybe?"

Was she getting everyone to leave so she could talk about the new weirdo?

But Rosalie's worries were for naught. Edward lightly touched her hand, and she jumped at his touch.

"Rosalie, come with us? We're going to another part of campus so there won't be as many people staring at you."

She loved Edward so much. In many ways he was the understanding sibling she needed after that ordeal.

She took his proffered hand and rose up from bench, dropping his hand as soon as she was upright. Being ever the gentleman, he let her go in front of him. The other four people were in front of her. She walked carefully, noting her surroundings, making sure they weren't leading her to somewhere…bad.

Quite soon, Rosalie's alert senses led her to realize that she had fallen into step with Bella Swan. She automatically tensed up.

"Hi, Rosalie," the girl said, her eyes fixed to her feet. She was just as quiet and afraid to speak.

"Bella," Rosalie returned. She sneaked a look at the girl's face, and it was shaped by nothing but concentration.

_What was she—oh!_

Rosalie's arm instinctively reached out to grab Bella's upper arm as the girl tripped over a bump in the unevenly paved ground. As Bella tripped, she had yelled "Crap!" and now Alice, Jasper, and Emmett all ran over. Rosalie immediately backed up from the claustrophobic space, and all three shot her looks of apology before turning back to Bella.

"Bella, are you alright?" Jasper asked in his smooth voice. Bella blushed again.

"I'm fine, Jasper, no need to make such a big fuss. I'm not even hurt at all!"

Edward eyed Rosalie carefully. "Are _you_ alright?" She nodded, still shocked at her own reflex action.

Alice approached them. "Rosalie, how are you?"

Edward answered for her. "She's fine."

Alice only nodded. "Rosalie," her gentle voice entreated, "Will you allow me to clean up your face a bit?" She flinched as she realized its cacophony. "I'm sorry, I don't really know how to rephrase that."

Edward stiffened in suspicion. Why would Alice ask that right now? He looked at Rosalie's face, and he saw that her eyes were slightly red and narrower from squeezing them shut. He internally punched himself for his lack of notice. He was a bad guardian.

Rosalie thought she should have been scared by that question, but she found that she oddly was not. Ever since that time, she had been afraid to accompany someone to a place where it was so small…but she was even more afraid to go alone.

She agreed to Alice's request and silently entreated Edward to come with her when Alice turned her back.

They walked to the girls' restroom. The girls hanging around there ogled at Edward openly. Many of them were looking at Alice with furious envy, and at Rosalie with even more intensity.

_How could they _eat_ near a _restroom? Edward wondered. As Alice pulled the door open, Edward warned her, "You have five minutes. If I don't see Rosalie then, I will personally go in there myself and fetch her."

Alice shrugged. "Done. Although you might have second thoughts about that. The girls will have a field day. You'll never get out of there alive." They disappeared on the other side. "Oh, never mind!" she called to him.

* * *

Rosalie wasn't sure what to make of the situation. Seeing an empty restroom with the exception of Alice and her was like a knife. Like the dull side of a knife, emptiness provided privacy, as well as lack of people who would watch her without fail. There was a smaller chance of getting hurt. On the other hand, on the opposite side of the knife, this girl in front of her could do anything, and it might be too late by then. The one lesson deeply and forever engraved into her mind: never wander anywhere alone, and especially not to a place that lacked people.

"May I…?"

Rosalie snapped back to the present and stared at the girl who was so much shorter than her. Now that she was in here, it didn't seem like such a good idea after all. But she had agreed, and—she looked at the mirror—she really _did_ look horrible. And anyway, she had her pepper spray in her pocket. Even more lethal were her keys. Both could be instantly accessed.

Rosalie hesitantly bent down towards Alice, who had a slightly wetted paper towel raised to the former's face. She closed her eyes while Alice gently but thoroughly wiped around her eyes, on her eyelids, and a little bit of the bridge of her nose. She opened her eyes when she felt the pressure disappear.

Alice was now taking out a travel bottle of _Oil of Olay_ lotion. Rosalie closed her eyes again as Alice applied it onto the places where she had wiped down. Despite being on guard, Rosalie found that she enjoyed it. It was within her comfort zone. She guessed it was because Alice had a very feminine touch…so much different from those who starred in her nightmares.

Alice shook her head. "Please don't compare me to them."

Rosalie was baffled. "What?"

"Don't compare me to _them_."

"Who do you mean?"

"Those monsters." Alice shuddered to clarify.

Rosalie reeled—jerked back, actually—and stared at Alice fearfully.

"You know?"

Alice grimaced. "I know the gist of it. In the end it all comes down to the same thing, even if the reasons are different."

Fear instantly dominated her. "Please, don't tell your friends anything. I don't want them seeing me like I'm someone to be pitied, or-or something repulsive. They probably already think I'm abnormal anyway. My actions were pathetic."

That was the longest sentence she had said for the day. She felt something different when she was around Alice. It was as if the girl was able to get her to talk more.

"It's been five minutes!" Edward's sharp voice rang out, followed by loud, annoying giggles that could be considered screeches if they went up any more in pitch.

To both Alice and Rosalie's surprise, Rosalie answered. "Wait, Edward. I'm almost done." She knew that if she said it, it would relax him some.

Alice turned back to her. "My friends won't do that to you. Sure, they may not have caught on yet, but you have my promise that I will say nothing. And they will not treat you like an oddity, and if you dislike it they will not offer you any pity. They're not that type of people. They're very much like your own cousin." She nodded in the door's direction.

"How did you know?" Rosalie whispered to her.

Alice looked down. "Well, I kind of um, know the symptoms, and it seemed kind of…obvious."

Rosalie felt the tears well up again. "I can't help it," she whispered fiercely. "I hate how this is affecting me so much! I keep having mood swings, I can't eat or sleep properly, and I feel like I have to work extra hard to reconstruct my life!"

"Shh," Alice soothed her. She wiped the tears away from Rosalie's eyes before they had a chance to spill over. "Do you want makeup?"

"No, I try to tone everything down after what happened…the less people who notice me, the better."

Alice sighed. "Not working. Let's go."

They exited the restroom and found Edward with an impatient look on his face and crossed arms. Relief spread over his features once he spotted Rosalie's neutral face, and his gaze switched over suspiciously to Alice.

Emmett, Jasper, and Bella were all sitting on a nearby bench. Alice was about to make her way over to them when the bell rang. She waved to them, and then turned in the opposite direction, waving to Edward and Rosalie too. Rosalie was headed towards the gym.

"Wait, Alice!" She turned around. Edward was analyzing his schedule.

"Can you tell me where the four hundred building is?"

"Sure." She gave him the directions, but then she looked around and gently shoved Edward towards Bella. "Go with Bella. She knows where it is. You two have Spanish together."

She made her way towards her own class, but she suddenly was stopped by a pair of strong, tanned arms wrapped around her chest from behind.

"Alice, are you ditching me?" Jasper made his voice sad. She could picture his face: eyes downcast, lips thinner than usual, brow slightly puckered.

It was a very adorable face, she thought.

She turned around in his arms, and saw that very exact face. She grinned at him.

"Hardly. I was playing hard to get," she said cheekily. She exposed even more of her now perfectly straight, white teeth.

"Oh? And who says I'm after you?" Jasper played back. "And see, I told you having those braces paid off nicely. Look at that million-dollar smile. I wouldn't be surprised if half the boys in this school are after you; I actually am _expecting_ it."

"It doesn't matter what they think. _You_ don't want me, though? In that case then, yes, I'm ditching you." She pulled his hands off of her but kept one, tugging him along.

"I wasn't aware that you hold someone's hand when you ditch them. If that were the case, everyone would be ditching each other."

"Come on, pretty boy, we're going to be late if you don't get a move on. Your class is farther than mine."

* * *

After school, Alice managed to track down Rosalie. Who was, of course, accompanied by her trusted protector, her best friend.

"Hey, you guys! Would you like to come over today to have a we-survived-the-first-day-of-school party?"

Rosalie shook her head wildly. Edward looked alarmed, and just the slightest bit of anger marred his normally composed mien.

"I mean, a gathering…you know, we're just going to talk and play games. It'll be in plain daylight," Alice modified.

"I'm sorry, Alice, but she has a doctor's appointment today," he answered, his luxurious voice sounding strangled.

"No, really, _I'm_ sorry. That was very inconsiderate of me. Here's my number, just in case you or Edward need anything." Alice handed Rosalie a slip of paper.

Rosalie was shocked at first, because that was what the boys usually did, but she understood that it was Alice's way of showing she cared. And she was touched by the fact. Because Alice wasn't doing this for her own benefit. She was already popular enough without Rosalie. She didn't need her to boost her social status.

From that moment on, Rosalie knew Alice would be one of the most crucial factors towards her recovery.

* * *

At Jasper's house, everyone was fine with not having the party. They were content to talk to each other about their first day.

"Jasper, where's your sister?" Bella asked him.

"I don't know. She called our mom though, because if she didn't, Mom would have called me."

"She's at my house." Alice looked annoyed at the fact.

"What's she doing there?"

Alice looked at her best friend as if he were the world's slowest person. "She's with Cynthia, duh. And they're busy talking about us 'having sex'." She made air quotes as she said the last two words with extreme irritation.

"EWWW!" everyone yelled with the exception of Jasper, who had heard it already on that fateful summer day, and Alice, who had expected as much.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. The most overused word by me—incest."

_So my sister_ does_ think the same way as Cynthia,_ Jasper mused. _What traitors._

"On with the day!" Alice sang. "Spill!" Everyone did. Eventually, they got to the topic of Rosalie and Edward. Particularly Rosalie.

Emmett was unusually silent. He frowned, thought, and stared off into the distance. The three people who knew him the best—besides his family—questioned him.

"I don't know…there's something different about her…" His eyes were unfocused.

"No freaking kidding," Jasper said. "She's very afraid of people."

"I _know_ that, Jasper. I just meant, the first time I spoke to her and she nodded at me, I could instantly imagine a future with her. Although I don't see how that's possible since it doesn't seem likely she'll get over this aversion she has."

"Emmett, to give a name to your situation, it's called _you like her_." Alice knew everything.

"I'll distinguish my own feelings, thank you very much." But he didn't look embarrassed about it. Of course, she wasn't the first girl he liked.

"Bella, what about you?" Alice turned to her. "Why were you so quiet today?"

"I'm…scared of Rosalie."

"Are you serious? Why would you be scared of her? Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?" Emmett wondered in disbelief.

Jasper, as always, sat quietly, observing everything.

"I-I don't know. You all have great, outgoing personalities. I tried talking to her, but I couldn't think of something to say that wasn't awkward or stupid. I'm such a boring person. Oh, and it doesn't help either that she's prettier than me by a thousand times."

Alice wondered what she could do to boost Bella's self-esteem. The girl always refused to think of herself as anything more than ordinary.

"Isabella Marie Swan," she sighed, clearly tired of that issue. "Are we going to argue over this again? You're not boring, and sure, it certainly wouldn't be the wisest choice for _anyone_ to compete with Rosalie in a beauty contest, but _you've got spirit_. What do I have to do to get you to believe?"

"I disagree," Bella stubbornly argued.

Alice groaned. The girl was such a mule.

* * *

Later, when it was only Alice and Jasper, he questioned her about the day.

"You know what's wrong with Rosalie, don't you?"

"Yes, I do." She was all business now.

"Care to tell me?"

"Not really. She asked me to keep it secret," Alice added in response to the look on his face.

"Oh. What are you thinking about right now?"

"I'm wondering why everybody has to suffer so much. First it was Bella, and now it's Rosalie…and there was me…twelve years ago…" That last part was said very quietly. Jasper remained motionless. He was not going to push her now.

"Do you still want to know what happened?"

He nodded and reached to the coffee table for the tissue box.

"No, I don't need those. I don't really want to cry over him, even though it's not his fault. Doing that during the summer was a mistake. It's just that…Bella's situation overwhelmed me."

"Alright." He put his arm around her for moral support.

"You know how I told you my dad works abroad?"

"Yes."

"Well, I lied."

Silence. Seeing that she wasn't going to get a reaction from Jasper, she continued on.

"When I was three, my…dad traveled to Ireland for a business trip. He arrived in the afternoon. The following morning was his first meeting and the most important one of his business career. He kept telling my mom that. He called us. He was excited and confident that the trip would lead to good prospects.

"When the next morning arrived, my dad was confident he would lead the company to profit. He was one of their strongest representatives, one of their best negotiators.

"He and another fellow employee left together. They rode in a taxi. My dad was on the left side of the backseat, his friend on the right. They weren't at all mindful of the traffic; they were discussing business tactics. It wasn't until they were on the left turn lane when anything happened.

"There was a convertible right next to them on the other left turn lane, and the roof was down, so the driver could easily be seen. My dad noted that the man was drunk. The driver was immediately nervous. When the light changed, he tried to outdistance the other car, but he couldn't drive faster because the cars in front of him hadn't noticed yet.

"The convertible was going within the speed limit too, which was strange because it was expected that the driver would speed. Then, he started to swerve all over the lane. The taxi driver started to honk at the other cars in front of him. The drivers finally realized what was going on and started to speed up. The drunk driver accelerated, too. It was as if he were mimicking the other drivers' actions.

"On one particularly forceful swerve, the drunkard barreled right into the center of the left side of the taxi. The taxi careened onto the sidewalk and the right side of the car crashed into a lamppost. My dad and the taxi driver were already unconscious from the first crash, and the lamppost resulted in the friend's own knockout.

"Just about every person on the street called the ambulance. By the time they arrived, the driver was already dead. My father was bleeding profusely, and he was lucky his head wasn't bleeding as heavily as the rest of his body. If it had, he wouldn't have survived. His friend was also badly hurt, though it couldn't compare to the extent of my father's injuries.

"He stayed in the hospital for two months. He was in a coma for most of that time. My mother found out when my dad's company called her. She booked the earliest flight to Ireland, and that was why she sent Cynthia and me to the care of your family for a month.

"I don't know where she stayed during her time in Ireland, but she spent the most of each day by my dad's bedside. When her "vacation time" was up, he was still in his coma. She came back, crushed, but the small band of other company members stayed there with him, promising to notify her of any changes.

"When he woke up, he couldn't remember anything, not even his own name. It had to have been a miracle for him to wake up at all. How was it that the driver got killed, but my father managed to survive?

"During that second extended stay with your family, my mother went again to Ireland to help him regain his memory. But the doctors told her he had a severe case of amnesia, and my dad, who had always had a low tolerance for pain, refused to strain his mind because of the pain every time he tried.

"My mom persevered. She tried everything, from family pictures to therapy. My grandparents tried their hardest too. My dad got tired of them eventually and even threatened to press charges against them for harassment. She had no choice but to leave. He eventually decided to live in Ireland, and with the help of my mother and my grandparents with the immigration forms, he was from then on a citizen of Ireland.

"However, when I was ten, Mom brought Cynthia and me to him as a last attempt. It didn't work. When it was clear he didn't remember us as his daughters we attempted to be friends with him. However, he said many, many hurtful words that I will never forget."

At this point, Jasper peeked at Alice to see how she was faring. Her face was blank, emotionless. She was reeling off her explanation like a well-rehearsed speech.

"My mother's never gotten over this loss. She didn't want to move because she loves him too much. She wanted to keep all the memories of him that our house provides.

"He started a new life…he's now a blacksmith. He is currently living in a flat in Ireland…and I can only guess he's happy."

"I'm so sorry," Jasper whispered, pulling Alice to his chest.

She shrugged. "I'm almost over it. I don't really know him. I try not to think too much about him either. And my mom was already wondering when I was going to tell you."

"She was? I'm glad she trusts me that much. But as sorry as I am for you having to go through that, I'm very thankful you didn't move."

"I am too."

"How did your mom know all of this?"

"Oh…from the employee who survived, and from some of the witnesses of the car crash. Let's talk about something happier now."

"Alright…but you still owe me an explanation about Rosalie."

"That's hardly happier. It's actually worse."

"So you won't tell me, no matter what I do?" He was grinning now.

"Nope." She flashed her lethal smile back at him.

"Methinks that the only way to get it out of you is to tickle you," Jasper said thoughtfully, mocking Alice slightly.

She slapped his arm lightly. "Oh, come on, Jasper! Who says 'methinks' anymore? That was so twelfth century!"

He grinned cheekily at her. "Elementary, my dear."

"Oh, God. That was freaky. Never say that again. You sound like a complete pedophile when you do."

"I probably look like one outside of school when I walk with you," he muttered so quietly that he thought Alice wouldn't be able to hear him.

Sadly, he was dead wrong.

She jumped and tackled him, knocking him flat on his back, her small hands aiming for his ribs. How did he end up being the victim? He squirmed helplessly under her merciless, adept hands while she kept him in place by sitting on his stomach. Their laughter was in perfect harmony with each other.

"Maybe so, but you're _my_ pedophile," she quipped.

"And you're _my_ lovely victim."

* * *

**A/N: Ugh. I feel like I'm losing my touch. And guess what? SCHOOL TOMORROW?! And where's my favorite equestrienne? We're exchanging first-day-of-school stories tomorrow/today/whenever you read this, don't forget! And basically whoever wants to too, tell me about your day!**

**Where is that smexy beta…**_**dear forever yours**_**…well I'm her n00b and I am OWNED by her :) And she rules her little dynasty with absolute power.**

**I know you're probably all going "Why horses?" Hint: If you've figured out why Rosalie is acting the way she is, then it should give you a clue :) Which, by the way, should be pretty easy to guess. **

**I love this vulnerable Rosalie! It's much more fun to write her like this rather than her normal vain self.**

**Yeah, sorry, I'm sure you all realized that I strayed from the subject of the story, which is Alice and Jasper. But, I couldn't find a way to explain Rosalie well enough if I also had to center the two main characters in the scene also. So I had to focus on Rosalie alone. But come on! The occasional Jasper and Alice fluff is enough to make it all up…right?**

**Bella and Edward's sixth period is Spanish, not biology, because they're in their sophomore year. AU, remember?**

**I also adamantly REFUSE to make Alice a matchmaker. Period. She may be…shall we say…a "guidance counselor", and she may occasionally give someone a push in the right direction, but she will definitely not be a matchmaker.**

**There's nothing romantic about Alice and Jasper's relationship…yet. :winks:**

**The Edward-and-Bella-ness will come much, much later. You'll see why. But he will finally take his first good look at her next chapter, because in this one…he was obviously preoccupied with worry over Rosalie. As for Bella? ****You'll have to find out later.**

**I'M SO SORRY ABOUT **_**HELL A.K.A. FRENCH CLASS**_**! I KNOW IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE OUT TODAY, BUT I JUST COULDN'T WRITE IN TIME! I can't make any promises, but by this weekend hopefully?**

**And I just noticed…my A/Ns keep getting longer and longer with each chapter :P**


	4. Rosalie's Therapy

**Disclaimer: I play, not possess.**

**Sorry for not updating! So school's been crazily hectic, and when I FINALLY got time to write and update, I got in three chapters of HakaFC. Really proud of myself; I didn't even manage to do that in the summer! I also got in a chapter REALLY quickly due to highness from my Halloween candy. O.O**

**This chapter was written for my friend on his birthday (not that he reads it because he doesn't know about it, but I'll dedicate it to him anyway), but my internet didn't work and I couldn't post it up. Ironically, I turned sixteen today. :P So it's a birthday present for the both of us? :O So happy belated birthday Kirby! (And no that is****n't his real name; that****'s just our affectionate nickname for him).  
**

**

* * *

**

Rosalie's POV

_That same day, after school_

I was in Doctor Bonlever's office. I sat stiffly in the luxurious leather chair, with Edward in the adjacent one. Across from us, the therapist sat in her own leather swivel chair.

"Welcome back, Rosalie," she said in a soft, soothing voice. Of course, that voice reflexively made me suspicious, but I would have to talk to her for the sake of progress.

I had to sit through a full hour of her asking me questions and offering advice, but I only half listened. I could name five things off the top of my head right now that would be more effective than expounding my troubles to a total stranger.

* * *

After that useless, doldrums-filled hour was over, I complained to Edward for the first time since the sessions started.

"Edward, can we _please_ stop going to this place? It's not doing me any good!"

He sighed. "I know, but you'll have to talk to your parents about that."

"Talk to _them_ about it?" I hissed. "They're never going to listen! If they did I wouldn't have ended up going to that freaking…_summer hell _in the first place! _And plus,_" I continued, "Even _you_ could name at least five places that would be better for me! It's just a waste of time, and you know it."

"Fine…I'll talk to them for you. If that doesn't work, then Mom and Dad's persuasion should." He grinned at that. No one could ever resist Esme and Carlisle. They worked miracles.

"Let's go home," I said anxiously. He nodded, knowing very well that I did not mean the house where I lived.

* * *

Aunt Esme drove Edward and me to one of my most favorite places in the world: my family's barn. It was a daily trip. After changing my shoes into riding boots and donning one of my father's old button-up shirts, I ran eagerly toward the stalls, which housed eight breathtaking creatures. Edward went off to go sit in his favorite tree.

As I reached the stalls, Chessy poked her head over the top of the stall.

"Hello, gorgeous," I crooned to the affectionate mare, rubbing her glossy roan coat. I took a slice of apple from my pocket and offered it to her. She took it from me delicately, her velvet lips tickling my palm and her hot breath warming it.

She was my favorite of all the horses in the barn. She had large, brown, liquid eyes that captured everyone's heart. She had an air of gentleness to her, and she would never hurt a fly. I smiled, and after giving her a final pat, moved on to the next stall. 'Glacier', the nametag on it said.

The pure white stallion stared down at me brightly. He had a proud arch to his neck that reminded me of an Arabian horse's. He was actually another family's horse. We were just taking care of him for a while—resting him after all his strenuous races. I loved exercising him. I loved how he could fly like the wind and bring me oblivion.

I offered him a carrot, some adoring words, and a caress before moving on. After repeating this five more times I finally arrived at the last stall.

"Colonel Puddle," I greeted him. He snorted a few times before letting loose a whinny. The sound was music to my ears…more so than any human voice could be.

"I love you too, boy. Let's go for a ride." I entered the tack room and took out all the riding equipment required. After triple-checking that everything was tightly secured and in place, I mounted Colonel Puddle. He wasn't that hard to mount, seeing he was still young and barely fourteen hands high. I squeezed his sides gently with my legs and gave him a gentle tap on his hindquarters with my hand.

And…we were off! A walk soon became a trot, which soon became a canter, and it finally developed into a gallop. I didn't loosen the reins any more than that, and thankfully he didn't fight me. He ran for the sheer joy of running, and I sat there and enjoyed the ride while maintaining control.

* * *

As Colonel Puddle was consuming his water, I started to check hooves and "give him his shower", a.k.a. cleaning him up from all the sweat and dirt. I was interrupted by a cheerful voice.

"Hello, Rosalie!" said Seth Clearwater. He was the son of the manager (who was my father's best friend) we had appointed for the barn. Seth approached with a smile on his face.

"Hi Seth!" I exclaimed, but I did not let my guard down. True, I had known him since forever, but things had changed. I could never be completely at ease with him anymore.

I told him a bit about my first day of school as I worked. I then turned Colonel Puddle loose, along with all the other horses, to the pasture. I lay down on the grass a distance away, content to just watch them.

I was in total peace. That is, until a little body jumped on me and I was assaulted by a warm, wet tongue.

"Puppy!" I laughed. "Where'd you come from?"

Raisin was a Jack Russell terrier. She was very playful, as was typical to most types of terriers, and we all loved her, including the horses. We all got used to calling her 'Puppy', and the name just stuck.

After she trotted off to join the horses, I got an idea. I could invite Alice here. I felt bad for rejecting her earlier offer, and she had looked crestfallen. But now, I was in an environment I was comfortable in, and at the same time I could make it up to her.

"Edward!" I called.

"Yeah?"

"Do you mind if I invited Alice here?"

He climbed down from his tree and walked over to where I was, looking at me with a serious expression.

"Are you sure? You've never accepted anyone this quickly before."

"I'm sure. She just seems…different, I guess. At any rate, she knows and she accepted it."

"She knows? Did you tell her?" His face was masked.

"No. She said it was obvious by my actions."

"If you trust her enough to ask her to come, then invite her. I'm just your bodyguard." He cracked a smile.

"Edward!" I chided him. He laughed.

I debated on whether or not I should put my number on restricted. I decided not to; if she got lost on the way she would be able to call back. Anyway, if she were really a…bad person…I could always bar her calls.

I sighed and dug out the piece of paper from my jeans pocket.

_Rinnng…rinnng…ring…_I put it on speakerphone so Edward could hear it too.

"Hello?" answered a wary voice.

"Uhm…Alice?"

"Rosalie?"

"Uh, I was…wondering if you would like to come over to my place…you know…I wanted to make up for not being able to go to yours…" I trailed off awkwardly.

"That would be nice. Would it be okay if Jasper came too?"

"Uh…" I looked over at Edward, who nodded, already deep in thought.

"Yes, that's alright."

"Okay." Alice's voice sounded slightly happier now. It was clear they stuck together like glue. "What's your address?"

I laughed reflexively. My first laugh of the day. "Actually, you know that farm that's about eight miles from the school?"

I could tell her jaw dropped because there was a pause. Finally, she said in an awe-struck voice, "_You_ own that?"

This girl could really make me laugh. "Yep," I said as Edward chuckled.

"Wow…" she breathed. "I am definitely not missing this for anything…I'll see you in a few. Bye!"

I heard her scream Jasper's name before she hung up. Edward and I let the laughter consume us.

"Alright," he said, now all business. "I'm going to get to know Jasper. That way you can get to know Alice without the discomfort of two people. But just to tell you, I'm going to be keeping an eye on you the entire time."

He knew me so well. "Don't worry, I'm sure Jasper will be doing the same thing with Alice. They're like overprotective mothers with each other."

* * *

Jasper's POV

"Jasper!" Alice cried in an excited, high-pitched voice. Funny how whatever she had just heard could make her happy again shortly after telling me her father's story.

"I'm scared to answer," I said anyway.

"Guess what! We're going to Ferryhale Farm! I can't believe I didn't see the connection before." She smacked her forehead.

I pulled her hand away and held onto it. "Don't hit yourself please."

"Let's go!" she said, pulling on my hand.

"Er…why exactly?"

"Because Rosalie invited us!"

Oh. Rosalie _Hale_. Ferry_hale_. Right. Now I felt like a retard. I smacked my own forehead with my other hand. Alice grabbed it.

"Dear, dear, let's not be a hypocrite," she said, and smiled angelically.

She managed to drag me out the front door before I pulled her back.

"Wait, wait. How are we going to get there?"

She looked at me amusedly. "Mom's going to be home in a few minutes."

Sure enough, Mrs. Brandon's familiar car pulled up and turned into the driveway. Alice ran to the car, and her mother got out. The door slammed rather loudly. The atmosphere suddenly seemed much too tense for my liking.

"Hi Mom!" Alice said, except she sounded unsure.

"Hi honey. Did you have a nice day today? Because I certainly didn't." She unlocked the front door to her house and went inside, slamming that door as well.

"Uhm…" Alice stuttered, returning to my side. "What now?"

In answer I pointed at the cell phone in her hand. She dialed.

"Ugh, this is awkward," she complained as she waited for Rosalie to pick up.

"Err…Rosalie…I kind of got stuck in a complication, sorry…yeah…really? But I don't even know her!…No really, it's okay…really? Thank you very much!" I looked to her for an explanation.

"Apparently, Edward's mother, Esme Cullen, is willing to drive us over there. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to feel thankful, afraid, or like I'm trespassing."

I frowned. "Why would she do that? She doesn't even know us…"

"Actually, her name sounds kind of familiar now that I think about it…"

We didn't get a chance to dwell on that, as sleek indigo car pulled up. Moneybags galore. The driver's window slid down and a woman's face was visible.

"Alice," she spoke merrily, her eyes twinkling. "It's nice to see you again."

My best friend's jaw dropped open in shock. "Oh my gosh! I remember you! You're the owner of the company where Mom works!"

Esme laughed gently. The sound of it reminded me of a flute. Apparently good vocals ran in the family.

"Yes, I am. And it's been awhile since I last saw you. My, you've certainly grown up."

Alice smiled as Mrs. Cullen's eyes met mine.

"Hello there. And you are…?"

"Jasper Whitlock, madam." I was suddenly tongue-tied. I wasn't used to addressing figures of prominence. Alice giggled at my formality, as did Mrs. Cullen.

"Nice to meet you, Jasper. And please, call me Esme. 'Mrs. Cullen' sounds horribly haughty."

This time we all laughed. Esme didn't invite us into her car; instead she parked it and got out. I finally got a good look at her.

Her hair looked somewhat like Rosalie's, except it was several shades darker and had a slightly more orange tint to it…almost as if it were caramel colored. This family certainly had unique physical traits. Her hair framed her heart-shaped face, and it accentuated her hazel eyes. Not to mention she dressed very classily.

Esme spoke. "Well, Alice, if I may, I have a few words to speak to your mother about a misunderstanding. Perhaps she'll be a bit more agreeable then."

We remained where we were while Esme patiently waited for Mrs. Brandon to answer the door. When she did, her scowl instantly changed into an expression of shock.

"My goodness, this was unexpected…come in, come in, Mrs. Cullen…"

We waited for what may have been half an hour, willing the sun to stay up. Esme finally came out with a chagrined look.

"Oh, I'm so sorry to keep you waiting, but the little flaw was resolved." Behind her, Mrs. Brandon was beaming.

"Have a good time, you guys!" She waved as we walked with Esme to her car. She opened the door for us, and we climbed into the back.

It was an amazing car. The luxurious leather seemed to hug us and we relaxed into it. Alice actually closed her eyes and hummed in contentment. Esme laughed as she started the car.

"So," she said. "You both must be very admirable people. Rosalie has never been like this now for the past several months. She's never straightforwardly invited people to her beloved horse farm the day she meets them."

"Thank you…?" Alice said, not quite sure what to say.

Esme continued on, undeterred. During the thirty minute drive to the farm, Alice and I learned much about her, and vice versa. She was the president of the company where Alice's mother worked at—a company of interior decorating. I had seen the building only several times, but I deduced that the company themselves had modeled the interior—it was very refined, much like Mrs. Cullen herself.

As we reached the driveway of Ferryhale Farm, I caught a glimpse of Rosalie. She was looking at the car. Edward was nowhere to be found.

We exited the car, thanked Esme, and made our way to the fence that Rosalie was perched on. As we neared her, Edward appeared from seemingly out of nowhere and joined her. Cryptic.

"Hi." Rosalie spoke first. It wasn't much, but it was definitely progress. I wished Emmett were here to witness it, but I knew we couldn't push her, especially since we had already kind of done so by including me in the invite.

Alice smiled widely at her. "It's beautiful, Rosalie." She gestured across the whole expanse of land, but her eyes were glued to the horses.

Rosalie smiled too. "Looks like somebody's anxious to meet the horses."

"Come," Edward spoke up. "If you climb over the fence we'll take you to see them."

At this, Alice's eyes widened. I was pretty shocked myself. "Really?" I asked. "That's quite a…privilege."

"No matter," Edward said. "They aren't going to hurt you, and I'll assume you aren't going to hurt them either." He smiled, although I detected the smallest trace of warning in his voice.

"Of course not," Alice replied willingly. "If only you knew how long I've wanted to interact with horses."

Rosalie and Edward led us to the closest horse. It was pitch black except for a stripe down its nose.

"This is Cavallo. He's a playful one, but he _will_ hurt you if he feels he's being threatened…"

* * *

When it got pitch black, it was time for us to leave. It was quite a task trying to drag Alice away from her beloved new friends, who seemed to love her as well. She just had a way with animals. We were also introduced to Raisin, who couldn't control herself and kept jumping on us and licking wherever she could reach. She was a cute little creature.

It was the hardest to separate Alice from Cavallo, with whom she had fallen in love with. She kept begging Rosalie and Edward to let her ride the black horse, but they kept telling her to give it some time. When Mrs. Brandon finally came to pick us up, Alice looked as sad from having to leave Cavallo as Raisin did from us having to leave her. Alice talked about her "adventure" nonstop in the car.

"One day I will fly with him," she kept telling me. "One day."

* * *

**A/N: I couldn't think of what to write about, so this is a filler, kind of. The main point was just to show Rosalie's more carefree side, how she's a totally different person here. **

**Sorry, so I said I was going to put Edward's analysis of Bella in this chapter, but it just wrote itself and the plot has changed. Sorry…maybe a later chapter. :P I don't plan out my story just in case a sudden inspiration (like this chapter) changes the whole plot.**

_**Dear forever yours**_** named Raisin because her dad didn't want her to name her dog that. :P I wanted Potato but we decided it's better…for a pet bunny. LOL. **

**Nothing much to do today anyway…tomorrow I only have a half day and then I get the rest of the week off.**

**Trying to cut these bloody notes down -.-x…happy Thanksgiving everyone!**


	5. No One Said Friendships Don't Suffer

**Disclaimer: You probably won't ever see me making a claim on Twilight.**

**From last chapter: pictures of Cavallo and Raisin on my Freewebs site that is listed as my homepage on my profile.**

**

* * *

**

Jasper's POV

It had barely been a month since school started, and we were already having work dumped on us like there was no tomorrow. Nor were we the only ones who were driven insane. The teachers frequently complained about having killer migraines. That was their own fault. The more work they gave us, the more they would have to correct. It was really as simple as that.

Also, I don't think I mentioned that Alice was in our school's elite singing group called _I Cantanti_—obviously Italian for 'The Singers'. Our school seemed to run on an Italian theme—in fact, it was first started by an Italian. The school name was Volturi High. Not an inviting name at all.

Anyway, the point was that no matter how much I suffered, Alice would always suffer more. She had the same courses I did, and she was taking a sport, _and_ she was part of that singing group, which I heard was very time-consuming via rumors from other students.

Life in general was not pretty, whether it be at school or outside of it. I had never known what it would be like to be separated from my best friend, and now that it was actually happening, it basically sucked like crap, if you don't count the fact that it was a total understatement.

* * *

_Flashback_

"Hey, Alice, are you going to sit with us at lunch today?" I asked her uncertainly. These days, it didn't take much for her temper to flare up.

"No, I can't. I have a meeting for a performance we're having in three days." She made it sound as if it were perfectly normal.

"Well, then—" Emmett tried, and he was cut off as he too, was rejected. Although this time, her tone was much sharper. He looked like a wounded puppy. Rosalie, Edward, and Bella simply stared at Alice without the slightest trace of a reaction.

* * *

That was the normal routine for Alice now. She never had time for us anymore, and on some days she acted as if she were not sorry at all. Sometimes I don't even think she was anymore.

Sometimes, the tone she used made me feel as if I were _forcing_ her to be around me.

And I continued to hurt.

Why was she like this? Did she feel the need to hang around different people because we were around too much and she found us annoying?

What would a good friend do? Should I give her some space, or should I confront the problem head-on?

I decided to give her some space for a week. If she still didn't approach me by then, then I would approach her. After all, she had been like this for about a week already, so another week wouldn't kill me, would it?

Wrong. Physical injuries couldn't compare to the pain I felt. I couldn't believe she could just throw away sixteen years of friendship like that.

I felt myself closing down. I hardly talked anymore. My parents knew, but I simply couldn't talk to them about it. Who had I to talk to?

Bella was very strong, but she wasn't good with discussing emotions unless she was angry. The words all came out then.

Emmett…I don't think he was handling this any better than I was. Alice was like a younger sister to him, and it would be wrong…how much comfort could we offer to each other by both wallowing in grief at the same time?

Edward or Rosalie…they weren't options either. Rosalie had that unrevealed problem of hers, and Edward was already involved in it.

This was all wrong! _Alice _was my primary confidante. _Alice _knew me best. _Alice _and I stuck together like glue.

And Alice was not here.

And maybe I lied. It wasn't that I _couldn't_ talk to Bella or any one of my friends, it was that I wouldn't.

Was this misery making me pathetic? Did I need to "man up"? I wasn't sure. In fact, I couldn't really be sure of my emotions anymore. But it was only natural for someone to miss his best friend, right?

_Come back, Alice…_

* * *

Edward's POV

I knew it. I just knew it. I knew Rosalie had trusted that girl too soon. Look what she was doing now! Breaking all of her friends' hearts without remorse.

I could see the expressions on Bella and Rosalie's faces were the same. They were stoic, devoid of all emotion—an appearance to hide the pain, most likely—but that was the one thing that gave it away. Yet, the amount of pain they were in, I couldn't tell. Especially with Bella.

I hadn't really noticed her before until now. I never had the time, and she was always trying to blend in the background. But now that I had the chance to observe her, I was quite surprised.

Even in her moodiness, she had refused to allow the fire to die out from her soulful, velvety brown eyes—ones that constantly reminded me of the eyes of the horses on the farm. When she was in the sun, they sometimes flashed golden. Funny. I had always thought brown eyes were dull and flat…but hers seemed to be multifaceted.

Even as I watched, she suddenly looked up and met my eyes, catching me off guard. We both stared at each other, and I briefly caught a glimpse of her pain before her eyes flashed. I was waiting for a reaction, but she never did react. After several seconds, she blinked demurely, her long eyelashes downcast, hiding her eyes. At the same time, her sleek, reddish-brown hair automatically slid over her shoulder to frame her face. I noticed with relief that she didn't blush like so many other girls before her had when they looked at me.

Fascinating.

I moved on to the boy next to her. Jasper. He, unlike Bella, was not trying to hide his emotions at all. He simply sulked, barely touching his food and talking even less. He looked terrible.

I didn't know the exact feeling, but I had the gist of it. The mood was one of martyrdom. And it would only be so long before I would be driven insane by the sight of them.

So be it. Everyone actually believed Alice was going to rehearsals during lunch and was "too busy for them", but I didn't. I was going to find out what was going on.

* * *

_Next day, before school_

"Excuse me…Mr. Clavius?" The vocals teacher was frowning as he analyzed a score. He looked up.

"Yes?"

"I was just wondering…is there going to be an _I Cantanti_ rehearsal today during lunch?"

He looked at me strangely. "No…the group just had a performance, so there aren't going to be lunchtime rehearsals for a while."

"Thank you, Mr. Clavius," I said. He nodded and turned back to his score.

I thought about what he said. The group's last performance was three days ago. Which meant that there had not been any rehearsals for the past two days, contrary to what Alice had said. Which obviously meant that she had been lying to us.

I was going to find her during lunchtime and demand to know what her problem was.

* * *

Alice's POV

I didn't even bother to go to my table at lunch and lie to them again. I just couldn't do it. Not again and again. Instead, I retreated to my now daily refuge: the library. There I was allowed silence to just mull over everything.

That is, until an angry Edward marched straight to my table and threw himself onto a chair.

"Would you care to explain why you've been lying to us?" he hissed hostilely. His anger instantly sparked my own.

"Would you care to explain why you were looking for me and not letting me be?" I retorted back. The librarian commanded us to be quiet.

"Come on, we're talking about this outside," Edward murmured softly, all traces of anger seemingly disappearing. His mood swing caught me off guard. He took my backpack with him as he walked to the door, and I had no choice but to follow him since my backpack was now held hostage.

I felt tears welling up in my eyes and I cursed myself for crying this easily. Edward led us to a wooden bench and we sat down.

"What's wrong?" he asked, noticing my tears.

"Nothing," I sniffled.

"Yes, there is," he insisted. "You've been lying to your best friends, you've been skipping meals, and you look absolutely dreadful."

"I'm not ready to face them yet, okay?"

"Then talk to me about it," he suggested. "Sometimes talking to a stranger is better."

"No!" I lashed out unthinkingly. At the sight of his offended face, I repented.

"I'm sorry. I've heard of that idea many times, but I feel like the more people I tell, the more the secret is…diluted." Not the best choice of words there.

"It's okay. How about you just tell me what's bothering you now?"

"Okay. To put it simply, my dad got into an accident years ago, one that caused him to lose his memory. He miraculously survived but did not remember anything whatsoever. Like he was reincarnated. Whatever you want to call it. My family and I are complete strangers to him. He met someone and they got married, and his wife is expecting. It hurts that my sister and I are going to be…replaced, because he will never remember us."

"I'm sorry," Edward said simply. Now that I had told him, it seemed strange, knowing that I had told someone else my problems before I told my best friend. Jasper always had been the first to know whatever problem or secret came tumbling out of my mouth.

"Fate must not like me very much," I said, laughing dryly.

He sighed. "You and Rosalie both."

I eyed him. "You don't trust me, do you?"

"I have to admit, I didn't, but now that I understand…maybe just a little."

"At least all misunderstanding is cleared, right?"

"Right. Do you feel any better now that you've talked about it?"

"Not really. Slightly. It could've been worse. But just so you know, I actually _did_ have rehearsals on some of those ditching days.""Oh, I know. Are you ready to go back to your table now?" He had barely finished asking when the bell rang.

"Too late," I muttered. He smacked his forehead.

"Oh crap! I left Rosalie alone! I can't believe my stupidity!" he yelled at himself.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine," I said. "I'm sure Bella would've taken care of her."

"No, I have to check on her," he panicked. "See you later!"

I started to go to class, but I decided to turn around and seek out Jasper. Ever since I had found out about the news about my dad, I had been avoiding my friends and I refused company. I spotted him from afar, but I couldn't see his face since it was downcast. When someone spoke him, I saw him return the greeting with a smile that looked terribly forced, even from here. As soon as he was left alone, he let his face fall again.

I hadn't realized that my "abandonment" would have this effect on him. _Don't be so hypocritical,_ my conscience relentlessly yelled at me. _You knew _exactly_ what would happen—you would look like that too if he did the same to you. However, knowing him, he would never do that to you._ Yeah, to top it all off, my conscience had to make me feel even worse.

I walked up to him, but I couldn't turn fast enough to walk with him. He bumped into me.

"I'm sorry," he said absentmindedly, his brisk walk not slowing at all. I caught onto his arm.

"Jasper, wait." He all but screeched to a stop as he recognized the sound of my voice.

"Alice," he said, disbelief written all across his face.

"Jasper, I'm really sorry about being such a bitch about everything. I'll explain everything after school, if you'll let me." Curse words were rarely part of my vocabulary, but I felt that 'bitch' was the only way to summarize what I was for the past week or so.

"Of course," he said instantly.

"Thank you," replied. "You're too forgiving."

"I can't deny my best friend anything," he said, and as I looked, the misery that had been contorting his features was now gone.

"And I couldn't have asked for a better one."

* * *

_After school_

I couldn't wait to find Jasper and the others and apologize for my folly. As I was walking to my locker, however, I was intercepted by Marcus, a member of _I Cantanti. _I knew him only slightly, and I wondered why he would be looking for me.

"Hi, Alice." He fell into step with me. I didn't miss the fact that his eyes failed to stay on my face even though we were walking side by side.

"Hi," I answered, grossed out.

"I was wondering if you would like to go on a date with me on Saturday?" I felt his disgusting arm around my shoulder. I could also feel his morbid eyes on me.

"Sure," I said venomously. He smiled, obviously missing my tone. "If that date involves me gouging out your eyes, that is." I finished off my statement with a smirk when the smile slid off his face.

"Come on, Alice," he whined instantly. He obviously wasn't one of those give-up-after-the-first-try people.

"Okay, look," I snarled, losing all patience with him. "It's a free country, and I'm allowed to follow my mind. If I say no, then that means no. It doesn't mean you can harass me into saying yes. Speaking of harassment, I could go report you for that if I wanted to."

He still had the nerve to not let go after that statement. Instead, he whispered in my ear, "It's not like you can fight me off anyway—you're too petite."

I smirked. His incorrect inference would be the downfall of him.

"Okay," I said, shrugging. "If that's what you think, then I suppose this won't hurt you much then." I grabbed the arm on my shoulder and twirled around quickly, twisting it as I spun. I watched with sadistic satisfaction as Marcus's face contorted in pain. That'd teach him not to mess with me. We were starting to receive some stares.

Unfortunately, the jackass wasn't done yet. He grabbed my unoccupied arm and pulled me to him.

"Oh, you're good," he snarled, his foul breath making me gag for a moment. My moment's hesitation allowed him to crush my body to his.

"Oh, you're ballsy," I mocked him. "Unfortunately, I'm going to rectify that." I was prepared to do the classic knee-up-the-groin move, but someone beat me to it.

"Don't touch her, you freaking perverted asshole douche bag asshole!" Marcus's grip on me was relinquished as he fell to the ground, howling in pain. I turned to see who had aided me.

"Bella?" I said, completely shocked.

"Alice," she returned without looking at me. I sighed and began to apologize, explaining in a condensed version why I had been avoiding her. When I had finished, she reacted as Edward had. She also ended up apologizing for not being more understanding. Silly Bella. She always somehow found a way to blame herself.

"So, Bella," I said as we watched Marcus's still-writhing figure on the ground, "let's go, shall we?"

"Alright," she said. Jasper came running up.

"I heard there was trouble," he said urgently. "Are you guys alright?"

"Yeah," I answered, "but Marcus here isn't so lucky."

"Well well, what have we here?" Jasper asked, taking in the sight of Marcus clutching at his genitals.

"The stupid jerk thought he could have his way with Alice," Bella supplied.

Jasper's smile turned positively dangerous, which I found quite amusing.

"You did, did you? Well, I'll tell you one thing. Touch her again and you die." We laughed and walked away.

"Oh yeah, Bella," I informed her. "Did you know you said 'asshole' twice when you yelled at him?"

She blushed. "Shut up."

**

* * *

**

**A/N: I love you, BAMF Samantha!**

**I wrote about a month ago a new one-shot of mine, Alice x Jasper. Check that out if you like! After you review, of course. Hehe :D Thank you all!**

**Sorry if this chapter was boring. I think I may have lost my touch.  
**

**Happy New Year! Sneak peeks to reviewers will be given :)**

**Dear forever yours's A/N: HIHI. So, I have this dream of moving to England and stuff. So when the time comes, I'm going to drag your lovely (lol) author with me to find a restaurant with some British foods and we're going to sample everything. She doesn't want to try spotted dick though. She will.**

***IMPORTANT NOTE!: I CANNOT BELIEVE IT EITHER. I ALREADY HAVE THE NEXT CHAPTER WRITTEN OUT. IF YOU WANT ME TO UPDATE BY SUNDAY THEN PLEASE REVIEW. OTHERWISE NEXT UPDATE WILL BE QUITE LATE SINCE THE REST OF JANUARY WILL BE HELL MONTH.  
**


	6. A Little Relationship Trouble

**Standard disclaimer statements apply.**

**Sorry for the delay, but this was (and is) what is happening in my wacky life: **

**Jan. 12: Anatomy project due (900 points!)  
****Jan. 16: Wisdom teeth surgery (God it was painful) & Dance Concert****  
Jan. 23: Film project for AP Lang due  
****Jan. 26: 1,000 outside reading pages due  
Jan. 27-30: Finals and then PARTY!**

**Then, this is how the next month or two will proceed:**

**Feb 2-whenever: 5-10 minute speech recitation (also is the beginning of second semester)****  
Feb to end of year: Anatomy project presentation (we basically just teach the class the chapter we did)  
March: SAT?!**

**Crazy, much? So you can't really blame me.**

**

* * *

**

Alice's POV

_Junior year _

Life as tenth graders had been no big deal. We had still been young and relatively inexperienced. It was now halfway through junior year, and I could honestly say that many people's lives were virtually dating games. There was so much heartbreak, drama, and tears accompanying multitudes of hormonal kids. If our school's drama were made into a reality show, it would be the most messed up reality show ever.

Jasper and I had our own turn of going through with this. It was pretty much expected. Luckily for Bella, she had settled down with Mike Newton last year. He made Bella more of what she had been like before her parents' divorce. He was good for her. And, most importantly, he had accepted us amicably. Smart boy. Their relationship was as strong as ever.

As for Rosalie, she was almost over her fear of human males. The mistrust was still there, however. Emmett was the first boy in the school whom she took to besides Edward. That was a good thing; it meant that Emmett's unending patience had paid off. And he was never that patient except with his closest friends and family.

I was in _I Cantanti _again, and so was Marcus, who was now avoiding me like the plague. I happily ignored him as well.

Anyway, Jasper told me one day that he was interested in someone. He pointed her out to me and said he thought she might like him as well. Sure enough, I caught her sneaking glances at him when she thought he wasn't looking.

She had silvery-blond hair that fell just below her chin. As I replayed that description in my head, I was suddenly reminded of one of the characters in the wizard series I read when I was in elementary school. I believe his name was Draco…

"Who is she?" I asked him. I had seen her around before, but I had never bothered to make any acquaintance with her.

"Her name is Irina."

Oh. Finally. A name for the face. Before this I had always referred to her as Wanda in my mind. For some reason, I just had a tendency to call all people with chin-length hair Wanda. She looked like one, didn't she?

I didn't get to reflect on it anymore, since she walked over and greeted Jasper. It was also obvious that she was ignoring me. I hoped for the sake of Jasper that she wasn't one of _those_ girls.

For the first time, I questioned Jasper's judgment.

* * *

"I think I might ask Irina out. What's your opinion on that?"

"I don't approve," I grumbled under my breath.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing." I flashed him a smile.

"So, what do you think about it?"

I shrugged. "Whatever makes you happy. And I think that question would be more parent-appropriate."

"_Alice_." He grabbed my shoulders and stared into my eyes. I suppose he was trying to read me. It felt like he was drilling holes into them—it was that intense. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

"No," I said, widening my eyes innocently.

"That may work on everyone else, but it's not working on me." He smirked. Damn him and his arrogant confidence.

"Fine," I sighed, giving in. "I just don't trust her. Did you see the way she looked at me?"

"Not really."

"Well, just be careful, okay? They say that…" I stopped. How was I supposed to explain this? How was I supposed to explain that if she couldn't get along with Jasper's friends, then there were going to be problems? No matter how I phrased it, I still sounded like a jealous girlfriend. Which I was not.

"Never mind," I concluded. "Where do you plan on taking her?"

He smiled and explained the details of some complicated yet romantic plot that Irina just didn't deserve.

* * *

Before long, Jasper and Irina were seen around the school holding hands. It bothered me slightly. It wasn't because he was going out with a girl, but because he was going out with _her._

One day, I had an after school rehearsal for _I Cantanti_, and I had told the gang to leave first. When rehearsal was over, I headed to my locker to get my books before heading home. I heard people chatting just around the corner. I froze as I recognized the voices.

What was he still doing here? I sincerely hoped he did not stay just for Irina.

I was striving to protect my best friend, but no one said I had to have good morals while doing it, so I did the only thing I could do: I eavesdropped.

"…I love you, Jasper."

I was pleased to hear that his only response was a "Hmm". What I was _not _expecting was Irina's screech.

"How come every time I say 'I love you' you don't say it back to me?! Is this a one-sided relationship, or what?!"

Ahh, time to save my poor Jasper. I took my bottle of almost-empty body spray and threw it at the row of lockers where Jasper and Irina were standing at. I slammed my locker closed at the same time the _clash_ of the bottle hitting the other lockers came. I then threw myself in the opposite direction before either one of them could react.

_Was it saving, or interfering?_ my mind asked me as I pelted across the campus. I told it to shut up. Running with a backpack and textbooks was not fun.

* * *

_Two months later_

Irina cornered me after school. I couldn't help but to notice that all forms of trouble usually came to me after school. Why? Because it's some kind of psychological tendency? You tell me.

"I noticed that you've been hanging around Jasper a lot." Oh, she was just asking for trouble, wasn't she?

"Yes, and such an ingenious observation deserves a big round of applause," I remarked sarcastically.

"Well, I'm here to tell you that he's with _me_ now. So I would advise you to back off, because I don't like to share."

"Tough luck," I answered back remorselessly. "I'll hang around him whenever I want. I don't care who you are, because it's not like I'm trying to get him to "cheat" on you for me anyway."

"Oh, I'm not worried about him cheating on me for _you_. I mean, look at you! Your hair doesn't look any better than a porcupine, you're a midget, and you're _boobless_. If anything, guys _avoid_ boobless girls."

I scoffed. "Please. If you're trying to make me mad, I recommend you take private lessons. Those comments may work on someone else, but they aren't going to affect me."

Irina released her hyena's laugh. "Ask a guy then! Ask Jasper! He'd pick me over you any day! I've never seen a more figureless teen before. Especially one in high school."

Ask Jasper if he thought I was flat? Was she stupid, or what?

"Ladies…" a voice said. I didn't need to turn around to know who it was. Irina's eyes widened as she took in the sight of the person in question. Irina, a lady? My ass.

"Oh, hello, Jasper," she said smugly. I turned around so that I could scan his emotions. "Now that you're here, let's set this foolish girl straight." Bad thing to say, Irina…sure enough, Jasper's face took on a hard look but he did not say anything.

"Tell her that she will never be able to compare with me, and that she needs to stop pestering you." For God's sake, this was _high school. _Did she actually think this relationship was going to last her through life?

"She's my best friend," Jasper said quietly but firmly, and I felt a surge of pride well up.

"I don't care who she is! She's interfering with our relationship and that needs to stop!" I raised my eyebrows at her.

Jasper sighed. "Our relationship isn't even definite yet." Ha. I didn't think so.

_Dump her dump her dump her!_

"Choose now," Irina said dangerously. "It's either me or her."

Jasper simply looked at her. "I'm not going to choose."

"Well," Irina retorted, "you have to. She and I are never going to get along. I will give you one day."

My best friend's face now took on a look of indifference. "I'm not going to choose. If you were a good person, which you're not, you would have accepted everyone who is an important part of my life. If anyone should choose it should be you. You can accept Alice, or you can go find someone else who will have you the way you are. You and I did not understand each other, and truth be told, you have a lot to learn."

Irina did not flinch. "This means goodbye, then," she threatened.

"So be it," Jasper said. "I do hope that one day, you'll find out what love really is, rather than what you've been telling me the whole time."

She marched away, affronted.

"Good riddance!" I said, not bothering to keep my voice down.

He laughed and agreed. He then tilted his head, which I found to be very adorable, and stared at something behind me.

"What?" I asked him, turning to see what he was inspecting.

"I think I just found a new girl."

"Jasper!" I yelled, playfully slapping his arm. "You player!"

"Kidding!" he hurriedly exclaimed, hushing me.

* * *

Jasper's POV

_A short while after the Irina fiasco_

"Yes, YES! He asked me out!" Alice squealed into my ear, hugging me so tightly that my air supply was cut off.

"Hold on there, boa constrictor, calm yourself," I teased. Similarly, I heard loud cheers. I turned to see Felix Doherty, who was likewise informing random people of his latest achievement and doing something that resembled a jig.

"Isn't he so hot?" Alice asked, very thrilled albeit she had calmed down a little.

"I'm a guy, so I don't really want to answer that," I said, even though I had to admit he was good-looking. Did I also mention he was also the most admired boy of the junior class?

Even so, I felt my stomach clenching in a completely foreign, unidentifiable way, and I realized that I didn't want Alice going out with him, no matter how good he was to her.

Whoa, whoa. Where did those selfish thoughts come from? Why did an image of me carrying Alice bridal style suddenly pop into my head? And why did that image suddenly make me feel better?

I disregarded all that, knowing that I was supposed to be the supportive best friend who would help Alice achieve happiness.

_Our relationship is strictly platonic_, I reprimanded myself firmly. However, that new side, the side of me that had stirred up doubt in my mind, scoffed at that statement.

* * *

"Emmett, what constitutes second base? Spare me the details."

"Well, to put it simply, it's mainly heavy petting."

"Does it involve taking each other's clothes off?" I flinched at the thought of that.

"Sometimes."

"WHAT?!" I yelled furiously. Emmett jumped.

"What's the matter?" he asked, alarmed.

"I heard some kid telling his friend that Alice and Felix are at second base!"

"Oh hell fucking no," Emmett cursed, jumping up and grabbing his keys. I called Alice, but she did not pick up. It was already heard to imagine her kissing that person, much less have him rip her shirt off. The mental image made me shudder.

We ran many red lights in our haste to make it to the bastard's house. I was a protector on a mission.

I rashly tried to shoulder down the front door, but Emmett stopped me. He rapped on it sharply.

"Felix! I know you're in there with Alice. You've got thirty seconds to open the door. If you haven't answered it by then, then I will have to break in by force!"

The door opened. Felix looked extremely confused. "What's wrong?" he asked, puzzled.

I spotted Alice on the couch, either asleep or unconscious. A blind, irrational rage took over.

"_What the fuck did you do to her?!_" I demanded, gesturing to her limp figure.

"She all but passed out from exhaustion. I believe you know how insane her schedule is?" he retorted coolly.

"Oh," I mumbled, suddenly chagrined. "Sorry, it's just that somebody said something, and I…" Was making a fool of myself? Yes. Therefore, I shut up. I felt incredibly stupid now. Not even once did I think about the fact that the kids may have just been spreading false rumors.

Felix still appraised me stoically. "What have people been saying about us?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

"Far-fetched, exaggerated things," I started, but the ever protective Emmett cut me off.

"If you knew her schedule was killing her, then why are you dating her? You know perfectly well that she doesn't have the time for a boyfriend!"

"Do _not_ assume. I know Alice's time is precious to her and I will never take it away from her. Most of the time we spend together is dedicated to doing homework together, as nerdy as that sounds. Any free time we have left is the time we use to do whatever. Do not complain; she still spends time with you too, does she not?"

He had a point. But that didn't mean I believed everything he dished out. Apparently, Emmett seconded my thoughts too.

"How do we know she was actually doing homework before she fell asleep? How do we know you aren't just making this up?"

Felix sighed in a very annoyed way. "Come in, then."

My best friend was now curled around a cushion, making her look like a human snail. She was breathing evenly, but she was frowning so hard that there were small traces of wrinkles on her forehead. That look pained me. Sleep was supposed to be most people's escape, off in a world of dreams, but for Alice, she was still stressed even in sleep.

I gently placed my hand on her forehead and attempted to smooth her worry lines out. It worked. She suddenly looked much better, and she let out a sigh that threw off the rhythm of her breathing. I smiled at the fact that I could get her to relax for me and not for Felix.

Looking at the coffee table, I saw her several textbooks, all opened and scattered about; some overlapped. I laughed at the thought of Alice trying to homework for multiple subjects at once, or perhaps alternating like crazy. That was so like her—she aimed to finish everything as early as she could, but whenever she did that, it conflicted with her organization. However, it was endearing, and I was glad that Felix did not resent spending his "couple time" doing homework with her—it wasn't as nerdy as it would have been with anyone else, because doing homework with Alice was just as fun as doing anything else with her. It had something to do with her bright spirit.

As I dwelled on this fact, that hating side of me struck again. It made me think irrational things. I dubbed this new personality "Obdurate Jerk"—which was what he was. He also made me observe things that I would have normally passed over. For one, Alice and Felix's relationship seemed lasting—it had been months now, and it was still going strong. Obdurate Jerk urged me to break them up, but I furiously beat him down. I tried to occupy myself, so I took off my jacket and draped it over Alice. I then leaned forward to kiss her forehead like I always did.

"What the hell are you doing?!" bellowed Felix's voice from the doorway.

I rolled my eyes and sighed. Time to straighten him out.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews from last chapter. I'm not feeling well right now because I haven't eaten since 7 a.m. yesterday 'cause my mouth is swollen shut. I am currently icing it right now. However, I am slowly recovering from the surgery.**

**Reviews will be very appreciated and you know I love you all. Thank you so much! :D **


	7. I Don't Know What to Do Without You

**This chapter is dedicated to several people! First, to ****_serenade(.)for(.)the(.)obscure(.)_** **, who reviewed every single chapter from the beginning! Also, to ********_Ms(.)Whitlock_** , who was my 100**th**** reviewer. (Pardon the parenthesis. Apparently this site is very anal about periods in pen names.) Finally, to ****_MarMarLuvsTheTeddyBear_**_**,**_**and especially to **_********__xx-twilight7-xx__**, **_**for motivating me to write. :) ****And to all my other reviewers out there, thank you very much also!  
**

**As always, I love my beta, ****____********_dear forever yours_****. :) On Sunday, January 19****th****, she and two of my other friends called me when I was asleep. I woke up to 33 voicemails and 34 missed calls :D But I love them all and they always know how to cheer me up. :D And then today, she helped me think of the end when I was completely clueless and brain-dead.  
**

_********__dear forever yours_**: SUPER BETA TO THE RESCUE! **

**Me: Indeed.**

**Previously****…**

_I then leaned forward to kiss her forehead like I always did._

_"What the hell are you doing?!" bellowed Felix's voice from the doorway._

_I rolled my eyes and sighed. Time to straighten him out._

**

* * *

**

Jasper's POV

I raised my eyebrows sardonically. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

Felix looked livid. "Do you not understand the concept of being _taken?_ I mean, I know she's your best friend and all, but that doesn't mean you can do whatever you want with her. She has a boyfriend, right _here_, who won't stand for your actions!"

"Well, what I'm doing right now isn't exactly considered 'inappropriate', because it doesn't encourage her to cheat on you, does it?" I mocked him.

Felix didn't answer.

"That's what I thought," I said smugly. Emmett coughed out a laugh.

"_And,_" I continued on, making sure he got this, "like you, I am also protective over Alice, and, like you, I will not hesitate to hurt you if you hurt her. Does this sound familiar? It's the father talk that you never got. Therefore, I, as her best friend, am giving you it. If she seems so much as slightly amiss because of you—"

"Jasper?" Alice's tired voice questioned. Crap. I had spoken too loudly. I also took a vindictive pride in the fact that she had spoken only my name and not Felix's.

I took hold of Alice's hand at the same time Felix said, "Sweetheart, relax." I glared at him over the top of Alice's head.

"It's okay," I told her soothingly. "I was just talking to Felix."

"I figured that much for myself," she answered. "Why are you here though?"

"No reason in particular," I lied. I hated having to lie to her. But I was afraid that if she found out the reason why, she might think…the possibilities were endless.

She sighed. "I'm sorry, Felix. I shouldn't have fallen asleep; I'm such a horrible girlfriend! I—I think I need to go home now. Sorry, sorry," she murmured again.

"Wait! No, it's okay, it's fine!" But he should've known he couldn't sway Alice once she had set her mind.

During the ride home, I held her in my arms. I completely disregarded the fact that she had a boyfriend. All I remember thinking were thoughts that I was sure no best friends would ever think of each other. In other words, they may have been a little too intimate.

For example, would any normal best friend have wanted to kiss her the way her boyfriend kissed her? I didn't think so. And because of that I felt like a perverse jerk.

I stared down at her face, which was ironically right over my heart. Her eyes were closed, and once again, her brow was furrowed. Except this time when I tried to get her muscles to relax, she shuddered under my touch. That simple, involuntary action set off a whole new round of questions in my head.

_Was her shiver a good thing or bad thing? Was it because she found it repulsive? Or did she enjoy it?_

I believed I was truly desperate—I now overanalyzed her every little action.

* * *

Alice's POV

I couldn't understand Jasper's recent actions. He was behaving very strangely now. For one, he and Felix were quite civil to each other, even more so than they had been before, but there was much coldness from both sides. It made me mentally freeze every time I was in their presence. Therefore, I decided to confront Felix first one day. I trusted him, but I did not trust him more than I trusted Jasper, which led me to the conclusion that he must've done something to make Jasper behave this way…because Jasper wasn't an interferer.

"What happened between you and Jasper that day I fell asleep at your house?" I asked Felix in a forbidding tone. Any chance he had of lying was now busted because he showed the telltale signs of not knowing how to explain the truth.

"I can't really say…Jasper and I made a deal over it, so you should ask him instead." He seemed more than just uncomfortable.

"No, I want to hear it from you," I said hardly. "Or else…" Yeah, it was a low blow, but an effective one nonetheless.

He explained everything quite bluntly, which was unusual for him. I was actually more amused than affronted at the boys' behavior.

"Call me crazy if you will, but I think he likes you. He's using his role as your best friend as a cover for his affections," he concluded. How wrong that boy was.

"You _are_ crazy, Felix," I said, laughing his statement off. I stared up at his handsome face, trying to see if I could read him the way I read Jasper so well. I couldn't.

"Alice," he clarified now anxiously, "I'm a guy. I know the signs whenever one of them likes a girl. And I also get this…feeling about him too."

"And I'm a girl," I persisted stubbornly, "and I know the signs as well. Trust me on this. Jasper would _not _do that to me."

"You're not listening to me." He looked miserable as he said this. "Just…talk to him about it."

I decided not to talk to Jasper about it.

* * *

Jasper's POV

"How's your relationship with Felix?" I asked Alice one day. It was meant to sound casual, but it sounded horribly unrealistic.

"It's fine, why do you ask?" She looked at me suspiciously.

"I can't be concerned for my best friend now?"

"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't know that was what you meant. You're so sweet, Jasper," she said, suddenly smiling at me. "Don't change. One day, that lucky girl will come to you. Yes, she'll be very lucky indeed." With another heart-stopping smile, she went off to find Felix.

I was frustrated. I didn't want that lucky girl. I wanted _her._ _I _wanted to be the lucky one.

"Hey," said a quiet voice from behind, startling me.

"Hey, Edward."

He had the same wistful expression on his face that I was sure was plastered on mine at the moment.

"You, too, are pining for someone you can't have?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," I lied.

"Yes, you do. It's all over your face. I—"

"What's it to you?" I cut in. That's when I remembered he had used the word 'too' in his question.

"Who's _your_ someone?"

"Well…she's taken too…and I…" I watched, amazed, as he stumbled for words for the first time.

"Just spit it out, man," I advised, somewhat amused now.

"It's Bella."

"Say what?" I asked, completely dumbfounded.

"I said, it's—"

"No, no," I interrupted him, saving him from further embarrassment, "I just didn't expect that."

"Why not?" demanded Edward. I realized that was a good question. Why was it unexpected? It wasn't because Bella and Edward didn't match—they did—and it certainly couldn't be because Edward liked someone who was taken, because that would be hypocritical to say so.

I finally settled on an answer. "I guess it's because you don't act like you're interested in the girls in this school."

"You're right," he agreed with me. "Except for one thing. I've actually never been interested in the girls in_ any_ school before, except for one. But she moved on. That was the first time I had ever felt anything resembling heartache." He smiled ruefully.

"Maybe she moved on because she thought her crush was one-sided," I supplied. "Maybe if you'd been a little bit less secretive, then she wouldn't have thought that she was wasting her time on someone who didn't like her back."

"Maybe," Edward reciprocated. "But right now I can't do anything with this situation. At least, not while she's happily dating someone."

"Hi, Jasper. Hi, Edward. Who's happily dating someone?" Edward jumped about a mile as he recognized the voice.

"Hey, Bella," we chortled innocently. "What're you up to?"

She didn't take the bait. "Who're you two girls gossiping about?" she joked.

"We're discussing how to get the single ladies," Edward said smoothly, although I noticed that his eyes tightened a little as he said the word "single".

Bella's own eyes narrowed in confusion. "Why would you be doing that?"

"Just because," I contributed.

"This is interesting," Bella mused. "Jasper Whitlock and Edward Cullen—the two boys in the school who could have anyone they wanted—discussing plans. Well, don't let me keep you then." She smiled teasingly at us and left as quickly as she had come.

I so nearly wanted to scream my lungs out at that statement. The irony was everywhere, and it kept on haunting me. Edward and I could have anyone _but_ the people we wanted. It was so frustrating!

So when I went home that day I did just that. Very uncharacteristically to my usual behavior, I buried my head into my pillows and hollered until my throat was almost raw and sleep took over me.

* * *

I awoke to a thought I had. More than once I had thought about resorting to very low tactics just to break Alice and Felix up. No one agreed with me whenever I shared my opinions with them about Felix. Even Emmett didn't believe Felix was bad for Alice. I guess it was just me now.

As perfect as they—and everyone else—had claimed their relationship to be, I was confident that one or two glitches accompanied it. No relationship could be flawless.

And then, I got it. I was observant. And I had an intuitive mind. And I put two and two together.

But, I hated myself for using her that way. Yet I had to try it out.

Whenever Felix hugged her or…ugh, I didn't even want to say it…_kissed _her to make her feel better, I noticed that it didn't work. How did I know? Because I was her best friend. And I had known her ever since the beginning of our history together. I also knew that I was the only one who could really relieve her, when situations came to their worst. And right now her stress fell under that category.

Therefore, when it was one of those days when I walked home with Alice, I decided I should try it. It wasn't even a magnificent plan or anything; it was very crude and it would certainly cause some problems for our friendship. But this was much more than friendship for me now. And I had to know. I had to find out if I still reigned over Felix in her heart.

So when we arrived at her front door, I declined her usual invitation to stay over for a while.

I decided to try it then. However, I almost chickened out at the expression on her face. But I plunged on.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Alice," I said, and abruptly leaned forward and kissed her on her cheek, dangerously close to her mouth. I drew away extremely quickly due to fright and the dizzying shock I had received from the contact.

In the next second, I had turned around and strode away as quickly as I could. I never saw her reaction.

What had I done?

* * *

**A/N: I know I've said this before, but for anybody who loves Alice and Jasper, I wrote a one shot about two months ago about them. Check that out please—after you review for this. :D Thank you.**

**__****_xx-twilight7-xx_**'**s note: Evening all. I DID edit the last bit but then my computer ate me. I stayed up an extra hour for this due to some coughLadySarumancough so I hope you enjoyed it. I hate the time differences of countries. My laptop battery is about to run out. I love the smell of Skittles when you open a fresh new packet. Oh and read her one shot a few months back. It was dedicated to my birthday!**

**^ Thank you so much to you Anita! She was my "emergency beta"! HAHA! So kudos to her and be sure to thank her in your reviews! :D Oh and don****'****t forget my actual beta too! REMEMBER, SNEAK PEEKS OF THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE GIVEN OUT TO REVIEWERS.  
**

**Does anyone actually ever read these A/Ns anyway?**


	8. FMyLife and My Thoroughly Kicked Ass

**Disclaimer: I realized I had forgotten to put one for last chapter. In no way does anything Twilight-related belong to me. Only the plot does. **

**I have mentioned this before, and I will do it again: parts of this story are OOC to allow for certain situations that are crucial to the plot.**

**And, of course, dedications! This chapter is dedicated to **_********__Realynn8_ ** and **_********__Can't-Talk-Reading_ **for reviewing every single chapter up until this point! They make me smile in my times of stress from school, and they've had some part in motivating me to write again. Thank you so much!**

****

********

**************A quick recall of last chapter:**

"_I'll see you tomorrow, Alice," I said, and abruptly leaned forward and kissed her on her cheek, dangerously close to her mouth. I drew away extremely quickly due to fright and the dizzying shock I had received from the contact._

_In the next second, I had turned around and strode away as quickly as I could. I never saw her reaction._

_What had I done?_

** I have A LOT of news to tell you later. Meet you at the end of the chapter!**** Now, without further ado…your chapter. :)**

**

* * *

**

Jasper's POV

I was lucky Alice had decided to take me with her that first time to Ferryhale Farm. Becoming close to Edward and Rosalie (as close as she would let me get to her) certainly had its advantages. For one thing, they understood my plight even though I had not said a single word to them. For another, they had taught me how to ride.

And riding was exactly what I was doing now, exactly what I had been doing for the past several days.

I was sitting atop Chessy, being a mere passenger to the powerful creature underneath me. I let her take her own pace and I concentrated on nothing but the task at hand. It was one of the good things about riding. One could not allow his or her focus to wander; a lapse in attention span could lead into very fatal results.

Why was I doing this? The answer was obvious. I needed to stop thinking about Alice. I was avoiding her the way a coward avoids everything.

Just like riding was Rosalie's therapy, riding was my sense of oblivion. Every worrisome thought of mine was unable to shape itself into a definite form due to the high velocity of my ride.

When Chessy slowed and stilled, I dismounted. And almost instantaneously the exhilarating feeling of flying was breached by my many guilty thoughts.

"Will I never get any peace?!" I yelled aloud. I was answered by the clopping of hooves.

I whipped around. There, in all her glory, was Alice, riding Cavallo.

"Jasper, we need to talk."

But that wasn't what frightened me. I knew there would have to be a confrontation. What frightened me was that her face was guarded and her eyes were blank.

The only word that could be used to describe her was…cold.

"I don't understand." I took it as a good sign that she was using a soft voice. I merely stared hard into her eyes as I myself struggled to piece the puzzle together. I had thought about it many times, but I had never managed to come up with a sufficient answer. And now I was faced with the real thing.

Her fingers were drumming staccato beats on the saddle as her impatience grew from the length of my consideration.

"I'm sorry," I finally said. "I was really messed up when I did that. I couldn't think right."

The look on her face as she heard that was cold enough to rival the frigidity of the Cold War.

"Is that all you can say to justify yourself for something so stupid?" Her words, although true, cut deeply. That sparked anger in turn.

"You don't think I've been thinking about this? It's been stuck in my head ever since I did it! I can't escape from it! Every time I try distracting myself, it never works! More than once I've already messed up something for school because I couldn't concentrate! I am about to explode from the many thoughts and from the guilt relating to this incident! What more do you want from me?"

I knew I was being an irrational asshole, but since when did fear and anger allow someone to think out his words before he says them?

She was better at controlling herself. "Look, I know you're my best friend and all, but there have been times when I'm wondering if you're abusing your status as my best friend to get away with stuff like this. If you had kissed me on the cheek, that would have been tolerable, but you practically got me on the lips! You don't think, do you? What if Felix had seen that? What if anyone we knew had seen that? Do you know how much trouble that would cause for you and me?"

I looked at her contemptuously, so insulted was I from her accusation. She would never say something like that to anyone unless she was absolutely sure it. It was true, however, and it meant that I had been much too obvious.

And I hated myself for it.

She was clearly hurt; her face showed it all. I knew she wouldn't have been able to hold that expressionless mask for very long.

I merely nodded, angrily yet glumly noting that I probably would not have done what I did had I not been spurred on by jealousy.

Everything was going nightmarishly wrong. How did I end up falling for my best friend anyway? I was supposed to _only_ be Alice's best friend, nothing more. I was supposed to support her in her endeavors, not jeopardize them.

"This is high school," I finally promised, trying to convince myself as much as I was trying to convince Alice. "I'll get over it."

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't that liking Alice was bad— it was just bad for _me_. And I knew, even as I said it, it wasn't something I'd forget about after high school. It was the despair that one felt after thinking about the future and realizing that one might never see a specific person again, and knowing that said person would be missed terribly.

She seemed marginally mollified. "I certainly hope so," she sniffed haughtily. She didn't believe me.

But then her face softened. "I think, Jasper, what you need is a girlfriend. It'll help you a lot—trust me on this." I nodded even though every cell in my body protested. She was joking, right? There was simply no possibility that I could ever truly like someone else while she was around.

"You're not going to give me the silent treatment again, are you?" I asked in a weak attempt to crack a joke.

She smiled. "No, I'm not, actually. It seems as if I've been doing that a lot lately, doesn't it?" No kidding. Being ignored was hell. Try it yourself, Alice. Particularly from someone like…Felix. See how you'd feel.

That was a total jerk move. I could tell that by thinking of things like that, my promise to her was going to amount to nothing.

"Let's go," Alice piped up suddenly. "We can ride together. We haven't done that in so long." I obeyed her resentfully. After the confrontation, I had wanted to be alone. But then again, I had already lost the fight with her. Might as well give her what she wanted so that she could be happy.

I truly did resent it. Alice had forbidden me to have any feelings beyond friendship for her, and her constant presence was taunting me. She was like another embodiment of Felix, reminding me of what I couldn't have.

Life was totally kicking me in the ass right now. Speaking of which, that reminded me of a little conversation Alice and I had had a while ago.

"_Hey, Jasper, have you ever been on this site called FML?_"

"_No. It sounds very…_"

"_W-T-F worthy?_"

"_Yeah, basically,_"_ I said, not very interested._

"_Well,_"_ Alice said with an amused smirk, _"_that's what I thought at first. But let me tell you a bit about it before you sprout anymore opinions about it. It's basically a site where people post up anecdotes of messed up events that make their lives miserable. Some are rather trivial. Others are simply sad. At any rate, whenever you're in a bad mood or something, you can go on to the site. I find it helps me because I take comfort in the fact that even though my own problems seem bad, there are others out there who went through worse. Most of them are hilarious._"

_It sounded like a gossip channel to me._

"_Riiiiiiiiiight,_"_ I said. _"_One day maybe…_"

"_He doesn't realize good things for what they are even if they're in front of his nose,_"_ my best friend mumbled._

_I could only grin at that._

Well, I was getting ass-kicked by life anyway. I wondered how it was treating others.

The site suddenly didn't sound so bad anymore…

* * *

I hadn't had much of a dating life after Irina. What could I say? I simply wasn't interested in anyone but the one girl I couldn't have, and with her, I could go much past dating. She was someone I could actually _live_ with.

Alice was attempting to help ease my pain as well as to find me a girlfriend I didn't want. I would be a moody, sulking high school bachelor. Thankfully, she only tried about three times to pair me off with a girl before she got the point and left me alone. The conversations had been more or less the same.

"_Jasper, what about Natalie?_"

"_What about her?_"_ I asked blandly._

"_I think she might do you some good; after all, you guys get along fabulously—_"

"_No, Alice, I don't think so, sorry._"

"_What's wrong with her?!_"_ Alice asked indignantly. This felt all wrong._

"_Nothing! She's a fine person, but I can't just date someone whom I have no feelings for. She's simply a _friend_ and nothing else._"

"_Oh, Jasper,_"_ she sighed. _"_It's high school. It's not going to be a lifetime commitment._"_ Did that mean she was going to break up with Felix after high school then?_

"_Yes, and not everybody is able to have the happiness that you and Felix share,_"_ I said, regardless._

"_Okay,_"_ Alice concurred resignedly. _"_But promise me you'll _try_ in the future, Jasper. Try to find someone who deserves you. I can't stand your suffering. It's hurting me too._"

_And once again, I was staring irony in the face._

I probably would have no chance of finding someone I liked until at least college…_if_ my feelings for Alice dissipated. Which could _so_ easily happen. Yeah. Right.

* * *

Having to walk home all by my lonely self had its benefits and its drawbacks. For one, I wouldn't have to stick with my _I'm-doing-just-fine_ exterior. I was free to scowl and twist my face up as much as I liked without having anyone question me about it.

The bad thing? Time took longer to pass than ever. My normal fifteen minute walks felt like four times that now.

Meanwhile, although my parents hadn't noticed a change in my skillfully hidden behavior, they did notice a change in the patterns of my lifestyle. Conversations at the dinner table were hardly in my zone of comfort anymore.

"_Why does Alice never come over anymore?_" _Mom asked._

"_I dunno,_"_ I slurred carelessly. I could really sound like a drunkard in one my just-leave-me-alone moments. Mom raised an eyebrow._

"_She's with her boyfriend,_"_ I gave in. _

"_Ahhh,_"_ Mom exhaled.  
_

"_Are you lovesick?_"_ Dad asked. My father, who had never known what unrequited love felt like._

"_No, I'm not. I just miss my best friend, that's all. May I be excused?_"_ My appetite was gone, just like that._

I did miss Alice. While I had forced myself to accept that she would possibly never have feelings above friendship for me, I hated that she had changed some aspects of her life in order to accommodate the time needed for her stupid boyfriend.

While pondering this, I heard voices floating out of the doors of the dance room. They were that of a male and a female. The first, I could identify anywhere, at any moment. The other, then, must have been…yes. I hid on the other side of the ajar door and began the dishonorable task of eavesdropping.

"…here, let me do it for you," I heard Felix say.

Well, well. What was this?

"Why?" Alice asked him.

"Just trust me on this, yeah?"

"Why?" she repeated. "Is it 'cause you don't think I'm strong enough? Because that's not the case here," she added accusingly.

Ah. The boy was in for it. Just like I had been when I had almost kissed…forbidden territory.

"You sexist pig!"

"I wasn't implying anything! It's a universal fact that men are naturally stronger than women!"

"_Well,_" Alice flared at him, "why don't you _wait_ until you're absolutely sure I can't do it. _Then_ you can _assist_ me all you want. But before that, don't you interfere!"

"I was trying to be a gentleman!" he retorted shortly.

"It sure didn't sound like it from what you said before." Her voice was rapidly progressing toward coldness, but then again, so was his. That was fine. All the better for me.

Felix exhaled heavily. "Fine, lift it yourself if you must." I heard him retreat several steps. "But if you need help, I'll be right here. After all, it's only forty pounds or so."

I heard a resounding _smack_. Ooh, that had to have hurt.

"Get _out!_" Alice shrieked at him. For a moment, she sounded like a mythological Fury.

Felix stiffly walked out through the other door, thankfully not noticing me. I heard him mutter something like "dude, I was just trying to impress her."

I snorted. Lovely,_ handsome_ Felix isn't so perfect in Alice's eyes anymore, is he?

I gave no more thought to it as the first notes of a flute reached my ears. Its trilling, sweet melody quickly developed into more intense chords.

Abandoning my spying altogether, I simply slipped into the room quietly.

Sure enough, Alice was dancing her heart out. I watched in utter fascination as she leaped, twirled, and catapulted herself to a different spot in the room. Her flying _grand jet_é was as effortless as a gazelle's. Of course, I had seen her perform before, but never had I seen her dance the way she was dancing now. The music was violently climaxing, and Alice was moving so quickly that her limbs were blurred. I willed her not to collapse, because dancing like that was undisputedly much more difficult than it looked.

Finally, when the tumultuous dance ended, I was able to hear Alice's heavy breathing. I wanted to run over to her and do something, anything, but I forcefully glued my back to the wall and remained observing her with my arms crossed.

I then spotted the cause of Alice and Felix's dispute—the ballet bars, which were currently on the stage. And let me say one thing: those bars were _not_ forty pounds. Nevertheless, I could see Felix's point. The stage was almost Alice's height, so it was natural to assume that she wouldn't be able to lift something as big and as bulky as ballet bars over her head. Of course he wouldn't want her to be doing something like that.

But he didn't know Alice the way I did. He didn't understand her personality enough. If she wanted something done for herself, who was he to stop her? If she sincerely said she could do something, she most likely could. It was, in a certain sense, a warning, telling the person to back off. If the person continued to annoy her…well then, Felix had demonstrated what could happen. I accidentally laughed out loud at the thought of Felix getting what he deserved. Alice's eyes snapped open and her sapphire gaze met my own.

"Jasper, what are you doing here?"

* * *

Alice's POV

How much had he seen? _Why_ had he been watching me? That didn't matter now. He wasn't supposed to have been watching my little rant, the expression of my fury with Felix. It was embarrassing, and I never intended him to see anything that wasn't perfectly choreographed. But that wasn't the point.

"I was watching you dance," he replied unaffectedly. "Is that so wrong?" No, I supposed not.

Why, then, did it matter now when it never had before? Why did I care so much about what he thought of me? I wasn't saying that his opinion didn't matter, but for something as personal as this, why did I care about his thoughts of me as he was watching me do my furious physical tirade?

I knew I had probably looked like a silly, childish girl with no sense and coordination during those five minutes, but it had served its purpose—to tire me out, so that I couldn't strike out at anyone else. It had worked, certainly, but my temper was getting worked up again.

Felix's…protectiveness and chivalry, as he considered it, was getting on my nerves. I wasn't as fragile as I looked. I was stronger than most girls my age. I didn't need his help, or anyone else's, if I said I didn't.

But now, the cause was Jasper. I was chagrined to discover that he had witnessed my uncontrolled performance. Possibly the entirety of it.

But that wasn't the thing either. The point was, I had been trying my best to help him divert his I-want-more-than-friendship feelings from me to another girl. Any girl would have loved to have him, but he was nothing if not picky about it. He didn't like this girl, he didn't like that girl—it was frustrating as hell.

So if I was trying so hard to get him to move on, then why did I care about what he thought of me now?

And I was clearly ranting. Ranting about how I felt about my best friend and my boyfriend.

_They both probably see you as a maniacal beast_, something inside me said. That was probably it. The concept of that was so depressing but true. Yes, that was it. I cared because I didn't want them to view me differently based on the events of today.

"Well," I finally answered, "I'm done. There's nothing to see now." I dragged my fatigued body over to the stage and took hold of the legs of the ballet bars. I was not surprised to find that I could barely lift one end of the thing. My will and my energy had suddenly abandoned me, leaving me torpid and apathetic.

"Jasper, could you help me a bit?" I alone was able to realize the irony of that statement. Only ten minutes ago, I had bitten off Felix's head for wanting to help me, but now, I was actually asking for help from a person of the same sex as Felix. Well, Jasper didn't need to know what had happened between Felix and me, and Felix certainly did not need to know what was happening now with Jasper. It would be my secret to keep. It was a girl thing. I smiled at myself, feeling better. Better enough to invite Jasper over, something I hadn't done for over a month now.

* * *

Jasper's POV

I found her request for my help slightly amusing, considering her views of what she deemed sexism. But then again, she didn't know I had overheard her argument. That was basically my role as Alice's best friend, _version I've-got-to-put-up-with-Felix-also._ Tell her only what she wants to hear, help her with whatever she needs help in, and leave out all the rest.

At any rate, I was happy with the fact that I no longer had to walk home alone. For the first time in weeks, it felt like the old days again. We openly told each other tales of classes, drama, and everything else that accompanied high school.

"Oh, I have this magnificent tale," I announced with mock grandeur, "and I wish to do it justice." I introduced it in a phony royal voice that made Alice laugh before I had even said anything remotely interesting. That laugh made my heart take an especially hard beat.

Out of nowhere, the screaming sirens of an arriving ambulance drowned out my voice. I stopped and waited for the vehicle to pass. About eight seconds later, the enormous white van whizzed by us at a speed that indicated graveness.

After briefly wishing the emergency team luck with their mission, I returned to my story of how I had discovered that the drum major of the school band was obsessing over me. I supposed I would've been flattered—it was the _drum major_, after all—had her antics not been so secretive. I mean, all this time, someone was pursuing me, and I had had no clue about it until much later? Not exactly the best way to make any progress. Still, the girl was attractive…and I kind of had a thing for musicians.

"You seem to know an awful lot about your stalker," Alice laughed. I spluttered. Thankfully, I was saved from having to answer, because Alice was unlocking the door to her home.

I missed Alice's house. It had been much too long since I had last been there. I immensely enjoyed its homey feel again.

We saw Mrs. Brandon slumped on the kitchen table, her head in her hands.

"Mom?" cried Alice in alarm. "What happened? Why are you home from work so early?"

Mrs. Brandon's head whipped up at the sound of her daughter's voice. "Oh, thank God, you're alright! I was so worried about you two! It was horrible, knowing the general facts but being left in the dark about everything else!"

I had no idea what she was talking about. Neither did Alice.

"Mom? What exactly happened?"

Mrs. Brandon's eyes were somber. "There's been an accident."

* * *

**A/N: CAN ANYONE GUESS WHO THE VICTIM IS?! I honestly did not think about putting that in this particular chapter, but I thought the story was too slow-paced, even for me. So from here, events will progress at a faster rate. I'm sorry about the cliffy, honestly. Last chapter, I left off with one and I left you all hanging for three months. I seriously don't blame you if you want to yell at me for taking so long…but here's the reason why. It seems like I'm making a chain of excuses every time. It sickens even me.**

**AP testing weeks were hell, and my SAT IIs are coming up. Ohhh CollegeBoard, how I love you. And then shortly after that are finals. Oh, did I mention that I also have a portion of my summer work due early? Yeah. Not pretty. So basically, my summer will be packed: summer work for all five of my AP/Honors classes, and I will also try to fit in a summer job. But updates will mostly likely be more frequent. Hopefully.**

**An announcement: I have decided to go betaless. It's a lot more convenient for me, and I prefer working alone, for some reason. However, I'm still up for collaborations, and I will still beta for anyone who needs me (for emergencies, one-shots, etc.) :)**

**IN ADDITION, I made a LiveJournal recently, and I have no clue how to use it. Are there any LiveJournal users who read this story? If so, I would really appreciate it if you gave me a hand in this! Oh, and of course, you may add me if you like :) The link to it is on my profile.**

**A recommendation: I would appreciate it if you all went to the lovely **_********__Realynn8_**'s page and read her story **_**Sometimes Goodbye is a Second Chance**_**. It also features Alice and Jasper, and if you're looking for some good angst, then it's perfect. Of course, there are little fluffy moments here and there too. **

**AND FINALLY: tell me which part/line(s) you liked best in this chapter, or guess who the victim of the accident was, and I will send you a sneak peek for next chapter! I promise though, you won't be disappointed this time! It's turning into a regular drill, haha. **

**Thank you so very much! **


	9. Independent

**Disclaimer: I am really bored of writing these. I don't own anything affiliated with the book series beginning and ending with a **_**T**_**, and my name in no way starts with an **_**S**_**; ****my last name does not end in an **_**R.**_

**So, I have to admit, I was a wee bit disappointed with your guesses. Mostly everybody was hoping for it to be Felix (haha), but I was assuming you all knew how I work by now. I hardly ever go by the norm—in other words, I like to think out of the box—and surprise you all. But no matter; I can surprise you now! :) Thank you for the feedback though.**

**Because I'm sure you've probably all forgotten what had happened (due to my abysmal lack of updates), here is a quick summary: Jasper discovers that Alice and Felix are having problems (and are therefore in fights), and as he and Alice arrive home, Mrs. Brandon informs them of a traffic accident…**

**Current song: "Kiss from a Rose," by Seal**_**. **_**It's been around for quite a while now, but I feel that it fits the mood of this chapter. That was the song I had on repeat while writing this chapter. ^^**

**

* * *

**

Alice's POV

"Go, go, go!" I urged Jasper as he backed the car out of his driveway. It was a good thing one of us had decided to learn driving early. Thankfully, he had had his license long enough that we weren't doing anything illegal at the moment.

"That ambulance!" Jasper suddenly stated sharply. "The one that just whizzed by us as we were talking about Natalie!"

I realized he was right. I found it ironic how little things like that—things that were an ordinary, daily occurrence—would come back like that and bite us in the ass.

It was not difficult to locate the accident. On the contrary, it was rather conspicuous, what with all the noise and the lights. I saw barricade tape everywhere. The words _CAUTION DO NOT ENTER_ on the tape, repeated a thousand times over. Such a large region that was quarantined…

Then, the sounds of someone's desperate screams grabbed our attention. A very familiar, petite, brown-haired someone…

"I'm sorry, miss, but you cannot cross this barrier," a policeman said as he restrained the viciously struggling figure of Bella Swan.

"You…don't understand!" she wailed vociferously. "He was my—my…" She suddenly stopped all movement, as if all the fight had gone out of her, and her legs buckled and she dropped securely into the officer's grip.

"Bella!" I cried, rushing over and taking over for the policeman, who hurried under the tape. She seemed to deflate in my arms. Her staggering weight caught me off guard. Unable to support her, we both slowly sank down to the ground.

She had found a new way to express her flood of emotions. "_No!_" she was screaming, grabbing hold of her locks and yanking in despair. One tear replaced another every three seconds.

"Oh, honey," I murmured as I pulled her shaking form into my arms.

"I-I was beginning to have deeper feelings for him…almost to the point of _love_," she grieved.

I froze. I hadn't realized how much of a lifeline he had become to her, so caught up was I with my own problems…problems that seemed trivial now. It was like comparing a city to the entire world.

I looked at the street again. His bloodied and mangled body, the vast pool of blood…the grotesque sight turned both my stomach and my heart. I felt my own tears coming.

It honestly wasn't fair. She had already gone through so much, and she was the last person on the planet to deserve the unjust chain of tragedies that had matured her much too soon.

My heart broke for her. She had been the most innocent out of all of us, but now…her innocence was tainted by everything that had happened to her.

I saw the bastard then. His arms were outstretched, and he was struggling to balance as he shakily attempted to put one foot in front of the other on the lane line; he erred in every step he took. The policemen did not look pleased at all.

Suddenly, a raging inferno consumed me. I wanted to end the drunkard's life, wanted to end it just as he had ended Mike Newton's.

This was going to kill Bella. I could see it—everyone could. I knew what she said was true. What she and Mike had was not a simple high school crush. Although I had never really made deep observations about their relationship—since I was so wrapped up in my own—it did not take ingeniousness to know that nothing could tear them apart.

It seemed too good to be true at the time—they complemented each other perfectly; they were like two adjacent pieces of a puzzle.

Every time Bella was down (both physically and emotionally), Mike would be the one to help her back up. Every single time. The rest of us had been there too, but we were more like…bodyguards. Mike helped her on a more intimate level.

I realized now what I should have realized then: that I was a bad friend. I was always the one with problems, the one who pushed people away, the one who got distant. I failed to notice anyone else's problems other than my own. The way I'd been treating Jasper lately could not possibly qualify as the actions of a "best friend."

And yet, he'd been patiently standing by me and putting up with all of my crap. He deserved much better.

Then, there was Rosalie, Emmett, and Edward. What had they been doing for the past few months? I could not recall. They were always there, in the background…but no clear memories made their way to the front of my mind.

Last of all, there was Felix. I could now see that our relationship had changed me. For the better? Not really. For the worse? I couldn't answer that either. However, there _were _things I was aware of.

For one thing, I had developed into a much more serious person. It was such a great change from my joking, carefree days—the days where I'd used to goof around, pretend that Emmett was my boyfriend to appall the life out of some people—those days were all gone. Sure, Felix and I had our fun, jesting days, but those never evoked from me the same untamed quality I had exuded from back then. To be truthful, I missed those days now. School required so much seriousness; shouldn't the rest of my time be more lighthearted? I couldn't take all this earnestness—it was weighing me down like steel restraints.

I had always gone by the philosophy that a successful, enjoyable relationship was one that came naturally. That was not the case with Felix and me. It seemed as if he was trying too hard to maintain _us_. I did not like that. He was doing way too much, while I was all too…light with it. I was simply letting the chips fall where they may, fixing something that went astray, and the like. I had been treating the relationship the way_ I_ felt it should operate, not the way it was _operating._

That was probably why it seemed all wrong now, and probably why Felix was devoting so much of his energy into repairing everything that he believed _he_ was doing wrong. He himself was constantly changing. I was not sure if he was even aware of that fact.

None of that was supposed to be happening. I wasn't even sure if it was worth it anymore. I knew I sounded like a hypocrite for saying that—since I hadn't been the one doing the work—but it was like…intuition. Or insight, if you will.

This was how I saw it: someone, thinking that it would be habitable after all repairs, had just purchased a decrepit house for a very catchy price. The repairs began. The house seemed to only marginally improve before starting to fall apart again. At that point, the repairs increased. However, the house just kept getting worse and worse—so much that, in the end, it would have been better to just let it collapse.

The question now was: was I ready to let go? Felix and I had been through so much together, and being with him always made me feel precious, like a rare treasure. The pros that came with him definitely outweighed the cons.

Which left the only remaining option: was it me, then? Was I the one who kept drilling issues into our relationship the way nails are drilled into wood?

But that was just it, I realized glumly. I was the one who kept picking fights with him simply because he misstated things that sounded insulting from my point of view. It was unreasonable of me to expect him to have to analyze every statement in both our points of view before saying them.

In the end, he deserved better too, just like Jasper did.

But then, where did that leave me? I couldn't handle being alone, not without knowing that there was someone who would be there for me to fall back on.

I could feel the beginnings of a headache coming on. I didn't want to think anymore. So I looked at Bella, who had now stopped crying. She was staring at me, her tears coating her eyelashes and seemingly amplifying their volume them the way mascara does.

"Alice, are you okay?" she asked in a feeble voice. The girl was going through heartbreak, had managed to skip the shock that should have come, and here she was, comforting _me_. That did not sound right at all. I mustered a smile for her sake.

"Bella, don't be silly. You're the one who's just lost a loved one." This _situation_ was not right. Mike had just died, and she was taking it much too lightly. It wasn't normal for a human to take all this calmly.

"I've had…experience with this kind of stuff," Bella answered in a detached tone. She was referring to her parents' divorce.

I could see what her problem was now—she was trying to put on a display for the public. Then, at home, she would fall apart. I could picture the scene in my head.

But this time, that was not going to happen. I was going to be there for Bella, along with Jasper and Emmett—just like we had almost two summers ago—and now with Edward and Rosalie. I was determined to be a better friend to her than I had been of late.

* * *

Jasper's POV

I watched the two girls. Bella's wracking sobs, which caused her to jerk slightly against Alice, and Alice's movements as she consoled Bella. Their hair—waist-length, raven and mahogany—twirled about in response to the girls' movements.

So beautiful. Alice looked so maternal and just _right_, standing there and comforting Bella.

Alice, can't you see? Can't you see that this softer side of you hasn't made an appearance ever since you started dating Felix? Can you see how natural you look now? How unnatural you look whenever you're with him?

Can you see that you belong with us? Your friends, who would unequivocally support you as you navigate through the twists and turns of life. Your loved ones…

How am I supposed to get over you when everything about you is so perfect?

* * *

Alice's POV

I was going to ask Jasper to watch Bella for a while, but before I could look for him, a flying blond mass obscured my view. When the thing stopped, I saw that it was Natalie the drum major. Another way to put it: Jasper's stalker.

She approached a policeman and implored to be let in, but to no avail. I heard her mention something like she was Mike's cousin. I wasn't sure if that was true, but it certainly was believable. They both had blond hair, and the same ice-blue eyes.

I looked towards the direction I believed Jasper was in. He was staring at Natalie's hair, which looked like a sheet in which light was reflecting off of, giving it an iridescent sheen.

Well, well. What was this? My best friend looked almost…dazzled. Would I be exaggerating if I said that his eyes were sparkling from all the light reflected from Natalie's hair?

"Jasper," I called. He didn't answer. In fact, he looked deep in thought now.

"Jasper!" I repeated, louder. He started and gave me—or well, my general direction—his attention.

"Could you take care of Bella for me? I have to go somewhere."

His eyes questioned me. I simply shrugged, not knowing what I wanted either.

"You know," Bella said sarcastically, "I can take care of myself. I don't need you guys passing me around." I found it impressive that she could still manage to be smart-alecky even through her pain. But then again, they always did say that offense was the best defense.

"Bella, be cooperative this one time. Please." Instead, she looked ready to put up a fight.

She did. "Jasper, go with Alice to wherever she's going. I'll be fine."

I glared at her. Poor Jasper looked torn between helping his lost sister and his broken sister.

He finally sighed. "Alice—" I bristled, since it could go either way "—Bella. Both of you, get in the car. Now."

"No," I objected, starting in the opposite direction. Likewise, Bella remained rooted to her spot, her arms crossed.

"_Where _are you going?" Jasper asked, his tolerance rapidly waning.

"To Felix," I answered shortly.

"Oh, yes, I forgot. He's the one who solves all your problems for you. I should've known."

My jaw dropped open in shock. Then, anger took over.

"_Excuse_ me? You don't even know him, and you have no clue what role he has in my life, so cut the crap and stop pretending you know how my life runs!"

"Oh, I think I have a pretty good idea," he said acidly.

"You have _no_ idea. Things have changed, and it's not my fault you haven't seen them—although it's none of your business either." My voice indicated finality, and I walked away. I hoped he was going to explode from anger. Whom I dated was none of his business unless I decided to change that status.

"Jasper," I heard Natalie say with her bell-like voice. Yes, go ahead and give him your opinions about how much of a bitch I am. I really couldn't care less.

And yet, there I walk away again like a bad friend, and I had just told myself to change. I knew though, that even though I was clueless as to where I was going, it was not to Felix's. I was not going to deal with him like this, given my currently fouled up mood. At the same time, it was too early to make amends with Jasper. Technically, it wasn't, but the last time I checked, I had my pride to consider.

"Alice, wait!" It was Bella.

"How come you're not with Jasper?" I attempted to ask nicely.

"Well, I _was_, but then that girl—Natalie—was getting all teary on him."

"Uh…" I responded. _That's what he gets for resembling a sex symbol. _Wait. What the fu-freak? How was that even _relevant_ to what Bella was saying? Where did that thought come from anyway?

But then I dismissed my worries. I had a right to have _opinions_, didn't I? As long as I didn't end up being sexually attracted to him…after all, there was no denying that he was very appealing.

"Well, he actually seemed to respond, so…"

Of course he did. He was freaking Jasper, who was so emotionally swayed. Other people's pain was his pain. I hoped something would come out of their sudden throw-together. He had been alone for too long. And despite what he said about being _just friends_ with Natalie, I believed otherwise. The way he _looked _at her…and it wasn't even at her face.

"Bella, stay with me tonight."

"Why?"

"It's going to be a really rough night, and I want to be there for you."

"Thanks, Alice, but like I said before, I know how to take care of myself."

"And what if you break down? Would your dad know how to handle that?"

"I'm going to be _fine_."

"No, Bella, you're _not_ going to be fine. Stop trying to play this off like it's not a big deal. I'm sick of you trying to be braver than you really are on the outside when you're really crumbling on the inside. It's a _death_, it's not normal, and there is no reason why you should have to hold it in. _Everybody _cries at one point or another after the death of a loved one." It felt good to have finally let out what I had been tactfully keeping to myself for the past year or so. A wake-up call, if you will. Bella had always been too reserved.

"You don't understand," she stubbornly persisted. "It'd annoy other people."

Okay. Here _she_ was, suffering from her boyfriend's death, and she's worried about whether _other people_ would be annoyed or not?

"Screw the other people," I said, frustrated at her refusal to understand. "It's all about you, and if they can't understand that, then they're crap and they deserve to die." So maybe that was a little harsh, but if it got the point across, then I certainly wasn't objecting.

Bella changed the subject instead. "So, where are we going?"

"You're spending the night over. Charlie will understand. Does he know about Mike?"

"Yes, but not the whole thing…just the general picture."

"Exactly. Which means he'd only understand the general thing. He's not going to understand why your grief goes as deeply as it does. And knowing Charlie, he's going to freak out the minute you start crying. He's going to feel so helpless and awkward."

"But—"

"Please," I said, annoyed. "I'm starting to get a headache. Humor me for once, okay?"

* * *

I was contemplating drowning myself in freezing water in the bathtub, so hot was the weather. I didn't even want to pick up the phone when Jasper called, so opposed was I to electronics and anything that emitted heat. I was also still mad at him for his jibe about Felix.

"Hello," I nearly snarled. I had a pretty foul temper at the moment.

He paused to analyze my tone before proceeding cautiously."I took Natalie home. I think everyone's had enough grief for a day."

"Yes I know that," I said impatiently. "Tell me something I don't know." Then, as an aside— "See, Bella? Natalie's letting it all out, so I don't see why you're compelled to hold it all in just for the sake of others. And, if anything, you have more cause to be sorrowful." She merely blinked.

"Okay," Jasper fired back smartly. I loved how he could combat my sarcasm. "Something you don't know. Well, she started crying, and since we were the only ones there other than the policemen, I went to her and tried making her feel better."

Good Jasper. "What'd she do?"

"She held on and didn't let go for the longest time. It was really awkward. But finally I convinced her to get away from there…and so I took her to that field where all the plants are." How sweet of him. Was he falling for Natalie?

"What about you…?" he asked hesitantly. "Did you go talk to Felix?"

"As a matter of fact, I didn't. Bella joined me and I took her here. I think the shock is finally settling in, because she looks like she's going through déjà vu fifty times over. She looks…really bad, Jasper. I'm scared for her. She looks so blank…so empty. What do I do?"

"For now? Do the best that you can do. This is out of your hands," Jasper provided. That seemed strange. Did he know something I didn't? Or was it that he didn't believe I was capable of helping a friend in need?

"Do you trust me?" he asked.

"Of course," I answered suspiciously. It showed how much our relationship with each other had changed. Once upon a time, he would have never asked me that; he would've been _sure_ of my answer without having to ask.

"I'm going to let Edward try something." He sounded thoughtful.

"Why Edward? And how does that involve trust in _you?_ Isn't it more like whether I trust _Edward_ or not?"

"Well…he kind of wants to be a, uh, psychiatrist—"

"—like you," I cut in sharply. His fumbling was definitely eliciting feelings of mistrust from within.

"Well, uh, yeah…I suppose."

"You're not telling me something." I was determined to grill him until he told me.

"Look, this isn't my business, so I can't really talk about it. Hey, don't mention this either, okay? It's just an experiment right now." Now Jasper was the one who sounded accusing. He seemed to be turning the tables around a lot lately.

"There'd better not be any funny business…" I warned him slowly.

"Now, Alice, would I do that?"

The truth was, I didn't know the answer to that anymore.

* * *

Jasper's POV

I didn't understand what had happened today…or at least, the part with Natalie. If she had been obsessing over me before, it certainly didn't feel like it. It felt completely natural when I comforted her. Seeing her look marginally less pained was a reward. But at what cost, though?

The price I had to pay was clarity. I was now befuddled. I knew my feelings toward her had changed. Perhaps it was due to the fact that I had never really gotten to know her as our friendship developed; I had never really paid attention to her in general. Middle school was when I first got to know her.

Now was high school. Junior year was about to end. Natalie had changed, of course. Had changed a _lot—_both physically and mentally. She had transformed from a simple royal subject to queen of the band. From clarinetist to drum major. The sight of her leading the entire marching band during school assemblies was quite something.

I knew many guys who were lusting after her. Many voiced their fantasies, with the occasional lewd comment thrown out for the listeners' benefit. Her band uniform left much to the imagination, but her swim uniform didn't. That's right—she was a swimmer too. In a painful way, she reminded me of Alice—they both tried cramming in as many extracurricular activities as they could into their schedules.

When I had told Alice that Natalie was stalking me, it was a white lie. I had to admit that I was a bit flattered. Other than Alice, she would probably be someone I'd date. Therefore, with Alice's rejection…

I felt lousy. It felt really wrong to like more than one girl at once. Today's events had opened up my eyes to the newfound feelings towards Natalie.

* * *

_Alice stormed away. I hadn't realized I had offended her that much. It seemed that Felix was a touchy subject between the both of us now._

_That left me with Natalie, who, I was guessing, was unable to look away from Mike's mangled body._

"_Oh, Jasper," she sighed in pain. Tears began to form in her periwinkle colored eyes._

"_I know, I know," I soothed as I opened my arms for her. She reached for me all too willingly, and her arms encircled me with a tenacious grip. I could feel her turn her head—she probably didn't want to ruin my shirt. We stood like that until a police officer ushered us away. _

"_Come on," I said as I guided her towards my car. After I had settled into my own seat, I asked her if she wanted to go home._

"_No," she responded. "Not at the moment. Just…anywhere but there." She hastily wiped her eyes so that she could see._

_What would be an acceptable qualification for 'anywhere?' An ice-cream shop? No, she wouldn't appreciate publicity at a time like this. _

_A place where she could cry it all out and not have to feel self-conscious about the attention she'd draw…_

_The first thing I thought of was nature. It was peaceful, it was a nice environment, and it was real. It had not been constructed by man. It allowed one to think._

_There was a place that fit that description exactly—a place I hadn't been to for two years._

_I drove for fifteen minutes. When we got there, it was empty, just as I had expected. After all, one couldn't just search it up on the Internet. However, quite a few people knew about it._

_It was a wildflower field. It was—_

"_Beautiful," Natalie said in awe. It really was. The motley of plants and flowers did not fail to impress._

_Due to the sudden change of events, I was completely unprepared._

"_I'm sorry…I don't have a blanket or anything…"_

"_It's okay," she said a little bit more calmly. "We do this all the time during marching season, so I'm used to it. I'm pretty much one with the grass now." She smiled sadly at her joke. She located a small hollow in the greenery and lowered herself into it. I sat in the vicinity, not wanting to crowd her. She stared off into the distance, seeing the scenery but not taking it in._

"_I wonder how it must be for poor Bella…" she mused forlornly. Wait. She knew Bella? If she didn't, she would've addressed the latter as 'Isabella.'_

"_You have no idea…" I muttered. Did she know that Bella would thoroughly beat herself up? Examine the situation from every aspect and use that to torture herself?_

_Natalie looked at me. Stared deep into my eyes. It was really discomfiting, very intense. I looked away first._

"_Jasper…" she whispered. She seemed to have suddenly switched to a different mood. She started inching towards me. I was frozen. Closer and closer she got. I felt her hand on mine._

_I had never been this close to anyone before…_

* * *

However, I didn't want to give up on Alice yet. But what could I do? She had basically given me an ultimatum: give up or sever our strong bond. With Natalie, I was taking the first step towards letting go. Hopefully.

I was starting to give myself a chance.

* * *

Alice's POV

I sat there clueless, not sure if Bella wanted me around or not. I honestly did not know what to do. She didn't even respond to my attempts to ease her grief. I was pretty familiar with what went on in that girl's head, but I had never met anyone quite like her. If I didn't know better, I would've said that she was masochistic.

We were lucky it was the end of the year, because there was no way either of us was in the mood to do homework. Well, we did still have a little…which we'd probably end up cramming at school tomorrow.

Then there was the other question: why was Jasper so sure that Edward wanted to be involved in the case? He hardly left Rosalie's side, so what had happened that would cause him to be all protective of Bella?

Therefore, desperate to get Bella's mind off her unhealthy thoughts, even for just a short while, I asked her. Even though Jasper had told me not to.

"Hey, why is Edward so eager to handle this?"

"Handle what?"

"Well, try to make you feel better."

"_He _wants to make me feel better? _Why? _Says who?" she demanded.

"Uh…no one important. I just heard it in passing," I lied, hoping she would not notice. She narrowed her eyes.

"What does the accident have to do with him? Shouldn't he be watching out for Rosalie or something?"

What kind of vendetta did she have against Edward? They were friends…or at least, they acted like friends.

She mistook my silence for offense. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. I was just shocked."

Of course. Shock.

Before I could respond to her, she started on the last topic I wanted to hear about at the moment.

"I wonder…I wonder what would've become of us. We were going to graduate and see where college was going to take us."

That was not helping me with my own situation with Felix, especially not after the epiphany I had had earlier. It seemed that Bella and Mike had had the next few years of their life planned out already.

I was jealous. I was jealous of what they had. Up until now, I had been content with my own relationship, but it paled so much in comparison to Bella's. Was I too shallow? Was I too hard to please?

So we both moped. We sat in my room and did nothing. No chick flicks, no ice cream, nothing. Bella stayed in the shower for so long I thought she had drowned herself. We went to bed mechanically.

At about three in the morning, Bella woke up screaming. After wrestling her down for about two minutes, we got up for real and watched movies until we had to leave for school.

At school, my actions did not go by unnoticed. Felix could tell something was wrong with me, and I was only annoyed every time he tried making me feel better. I wasn't sure if it was the heat responsible, but I couldn't stand his hugs. He even commented on my distancing myself from others, and I had to suppress a snort at how he had nothing to say except for the obvious. I was tired, and I did not want him around.

I didn't want him to make me feel better. I wanted Jasper. Jasper was the one who truly knew me, knew to be spontaneous. He would always come up with something new, and it would be able to hearten me every single time. The world needed more people like Jasper.

As to why I was so off…Felix got his answer. I cornered him after school.

"We have to talk." I kept my tone noncommittal.

"About what?"

"You and me."

"What about us?"

"I don't think our relationship is working out."

"Why—what's wrong?" I guess he didn't feel the way I did then.

"It's not you—it's just that I feel like you're putting too much effort into making it work out—and I just don't think it's worth you doing that much."

"I don't see it that way though…it's okay…I'm fine with doing anything, _anything_, that makes our relationship work out. We have to get through this." I wondered if he was going to be as confident after what I was going to tell him next.

"No, you don't understand. I feel like I'm someone I'm not. I used to be a _happy_ person. Someone who would make lame jokes and be silly overall. Maybe you're too good for me, because I always feel like I have to impress you so that you would think I'm worth your time."

"Alice," he sighed. "I liked you for _you_. This was how you were like the first time you had my attention."

"No." I shook my head. "It was because I was doing it on purpose. I was doing it _so that_ you would notice me. This isn't really me, can't you tell? It's like…like I have to be mature about everything. I want some humor in there, you know? With you, I feel out of place whenever I try making a joke because you're never as amused as I am, and I would always feel like a fool."

Then the pleading came in. "I can change."

I sighed. "That's just it, though. You _shouldn't _have to change who you are in a relationship—unless it's for the better. You're a more serious person—and I know that every time you force yourself to be funnier, you're going to feel out of place."

"It is for the better though," he persisted. "It's for the better if it makes you happy."

"Yes and no. Even _if _it makes _me _happy, you wouldn't be. Don't fight it, Felix, please. It was going stale, and it seems like it's only going to get worse. Just let me be."

"You're over me?"

To be honest, I didn't know either. "I didn't say that. I'll probably get emotional about it sooner or later, but there's no point. Maybe I'll still like you, but it'll never be in the same way again."

"It's not because you like Jasper back now, is it?" He was angry, jealous.

"_No,_" I said bleakly. "He has nothing to do with this."

I could tell the talk was coming to an end because it started getting to the I-have-no-answer-for-that stage. Then came the most awkward part: leaving.

"With that said, I'll be off now. I need to think about this," I tried saying nonchalantly. I don't know how successful I was.

He only nodded mutely before I turned away. No tears, no tears.

* * *

"Do you want to talk about it?" Jasper asked concernedly.

"No," I said as I shoveled another spoonful of vanilla relief into my mouth. I desperately wished it could soothe my throbbing head as easily as it seemed to sooth my throat.

I could tell he was troubled—he looked uncertain and panicky as he watched me endlessly down spoonfuls of ice cream, straight from the carton. That was a trademark sign of my stress, because I had always preferred my clean, beautifully shaped glass bowls over the wet, sticky carton.

I hadn't told him anything; I had simply asked him to be there for me. I knew that in time, I would feel better. His mere presence was enough to calm me. And in time, he would find out about the breakup anyway.

I was lucky; in the end, I would always have Jasper to fall back on—during and after all of my "adventures." Why I hadn't realized that earlier was beyond me.

* * *

The next time I saw Felix was at Mike's funeral, which took place on the second week of summer. Felix avoided me like I was the next plague. I was fine with that. His eyes were always downcast now. I tried my best to not let the guilt get to me.

When Bella delivered her eulogy, I saw a new picture of Mike through her eyes. I had always known he was a good person—for one thing, he had accepted us as Bella's friends—but it was during this time when I realized how good he truly was. How _pure_ he was. He was really good for her, but now…

After a round of thunderous applause, I watched Bella return to her seat, which was next to Edward's. I saw him take her hand and squeeze it as he smiled reassuringly at her. If that was the experiment Jasper had referred to, it was far from enough. It would take much more than that to heal Bella. Did Edward know that?

It was also then when I found out about Jasper and Natalie. They were always with each other. They never left each other's side. I wondered if something really had developed from the day of the accident. The sight of it made me feel strange, and even though I was relieved that I was now single, I felt…lonely.

* * *

**A/N: I am so, so sorry. Life has been insane. I've so much summer work that it's not even funny. For a time, I had honestly feared that I wouldn't be able to finish. That's how bad it was. I've finished half now, so I feel a little bit better.**

**Come visit my LiveJournal! You don't need an account to read and comment. :)**

**Finally, this chapter was really for ****_dear forever yours_****, whose seventeenth birthday was a couple of days ago. She was basically horded by all her friends, but I got a few precious minutes with her on OMGPOP. :P And the fact that I hogged her first at midnight. ^^ I also had "Kiss from a Rose" on too while on the phone. She's probably sick of it now. :D**

**If all goes well and according to plan (and hope that some evil plot will not spontaneously pop into my head and make me change everything), then there will only be one more chapter before our lovely characters start college. That is when the story starts to escalate and relationships become more serious. ;)**

**So I'm going to try something new. I will give you a snippet of next chapter, and if you want more, you know what to do. ;D**

**

* * *

**

_Next chapter:_

_What was going to happen now? Was I going to be a…seventh wheel? Never in my life had I expected something as simple as this to backfire on me._


	10. Voting!

I'm so sorry for the false alert! Especially since I haven't updated in forever for _Anything for You._ :(

Anyways, I just wanted to tell you all that I've entered _The Kid Contest_.

This is my first contest, and I admit, I'm rather excited.

My story is _Sealed with a Pinecone. _It's an Alice and Jasper one-shot, for all you fans of that pairing. Story is on my profile.

(Shameless self-promotion much?)

Anyway, I would really love it if you all do me a huge favour and vote for it.

Link is: fanfiction. net/u/2079954/The_Kid_Contest

(Take out the space, of course)

Please don't review this author's note. It'll be deleted as soon as I post up the next chapter.

I'm really sorry, guys, for not having updated AFY in so long. College apps are killing me, but I'm hanging in there!

Have a happy New Year! May 2010 be an even better year for you!

As for me… class of 2010, baby! :D


End file.
